For the Love of a Chili Dog

Confession: I am a chili dog addict.
 
The first time I came to D.C., Layne took me around to all his old haunts. Since he lived a little further out in Northern Virginia and he knows I have an intense love for chili dogs, we had to hit up the Vienna Inn. It's a total dive, but the chili dogs are only $2, and I devoured 3 or 4 dogs before I was satisfied. And then I craved them for the entire 9 months I was away.

When we moved out here, Vienna Inn was one of the first places we went to. But then I began to hear about this other magical chili dog purveyor - Ben's Chili Bowl. At the time it was only in D.C. in the U Street corridor, which was not exactly a neighborhood I frequented. But, hey - I'll go anywhere for a good chili dog, so within a month we found ourselves making the trek.

Picture from my first visit.

Wow. Spicy chili, crisp snap to the dog - I was sold. And after years of living a good 30-40 minutes from either the Vienne Inn or Ben's, or only being able to grab Ben's at a Nats game, this spring Ben's opened a location in Arlington. (Cue celebratory dance.)

It pretty much made my year.

Layne and I went opening weekend, and when my mom visited she made sure we went twice. Turns out, she loves chili dogs just as much as I do. My White Trash roots run deep.

As a complete bonus, Detroit is known for their coney dogs (which is just really just another name for chili dogs). So when I'm in The D, I get to feed my addiction at Lafayette! Because locals know there is no real competition between American and Lafayette.

If I have a chili dog in hand, I'm a pretty happy camper.

Last weekend at the Nats game.

 Check out my D.C. page for more recommendations on where to eat in the Capitol.