Wash DC: Area around Ben's Chilli Bowl
 

Is this area safe at mid-day for two women...will be parking in a nearby parking lot and walking to the restaurant.

Yes, utterly. It went through a period of being sketchy, but that was a long time ago. It's a bustling area, the U Street corridor.

Yes, it is a safe area these days. It is right across from the U Street/Cardoza metro stop if you don't want to bother driving.

TY all for help. Would LOVE to use Metro, but this will be part of a day trip which includes areas not accessible by Metro...sigh!

Ben's Chili Bowl was great!

Thanks, pollyvw :-)

You are most welcome. Recommend about 2 to 2:30 to avoid the LONG line.

Parking is quite a challenge in that area. In some blocks, one side of the street is off limits to any vehicle that lacks a local residential parking sticker. Read the signs carefully.

LOL! Tell me about it. I have a $30 ticket on my desk that I still need to pay. High for parking, but not for the experience.

<<<I have a $30 ticket on my desk that I still need to pay>>>

That's an expensive bowl of chili though! (we took the metro)

>>I have a $30 ticket on my desk that I still need to pay. High for parking, but not for the experience.<<

Ooh, sorry to hear that. Do remember to pay it on time. A reminder from your good buddies in parking enforcement will be significantly pricier.

Ben's is a hoot.

sf...would have taken Metro, but our two other stops that day were not metro accessible. Yes...expensive for chili, but not for the experience. I have spent more and received less pleasure for it. No complaints here. :-) Life is good.

I luz me some Ben's. I went to Howard, so I enjoyed it often :D

polly had it well planned...but the parking garage she scouted out was under demo/renovation. It was a great experience! So glad she suggested it and loved the smoke dawg at Ben's :-)

Parking shouldn't bee too tough. If you can't find anything on U Street at a meter, just drive around a few of the nearby small streets, and you should be able to find something since it will be in the middle of the day. kayd is so right about the signs though. Parking fines have been a hallowed source of revenue in DC for a long time! But even though most streets are restricted for residents, they mostly allow non-residents to park for an hour or two. The neighborhood is fine.

We tried that. We talked to one meter maid and she said she would not ticket us.
Another one did.

No, what I mean is, the signs indicate that cars without resident stickers can only park for an hour, or maybe two hours. I'm pretty sure that there really aren't any areas where non-residents aren't allowed to park at all. But if you go over the time limit they will ticket you for sure.

We weren't there more than an hour.

Residential parking in DC permits cars without a residential sticker to park for up to two hours. Is it possible you were in violation of one of the many other parking restrictions? Of course DC is notorious for issuing unjustified tickets.

We parked two blocks up on a side street. We didn't see any signs but wondered if it were residential only. We walked a block and there was a meter maid on a segway. Polly asked her and the mm said there might have been a sign on the corner. She said they she would not ticket us but couldn't promise that someone else wouldn't. The parking garage was under reno and we had driven around looking for a parking spot. We took a calculated risk. We lost. I offered to split the cost of the ticket with Polly. It was expensive parking but in the afternoon on a very hot day (almost 90 degrees in April) it was pretty much worth it. That's not a recommendation for others to do the same thing. ;)

Face it starrs, you just didn't wolf down that half smoke with chili quick enough!

There are loads of signs regarding parking on every street--they may be confusing, but they're there. I learned to drive in DC and I can tell you that careful reading became second nature to me! I advise tourists to take their time and read carefully, because IME the signs do make sense and tickets can be avoided. Of course, garages are plentiful, too, and much simpler to navigate.

LOL, Steamedcrab. We didn't try to but we're okay with the outcome. :-)

NewbE, I'm not sure I'd call Polly a tourist but kudos to you for your second nature careful reading. We looked. We asked. Polly planned. I navigated. The garage was not available for parking. It is what it is, which was a very good day in DC with a slightly higher parking fee than anticipated. She scored an amazing parking spot on the Tidal Basin and we continued on to the National Harbor. All should be so lucky to have Polly as their tour guide for the day. ;)

They do have plenty of signs, but I also remember, probably about 25 years ago, I got a ticket near Logan Circle for parking too close to a corner (I think the reg was 25'). Had no idea, and there was no sign, but that is a parking rule in DC.

That's tough. I was wondering about "right turn on red" at lights when I was driving other parts of the road trip. I just limited it as much as possible and hoped for the best. It's funny how different things can be in different places. In the end, it was a great day so no complaints.

Glad you enjoyed DC. Sounds like u had great weather and were here the perfect moment for the blossoms. really parking fines are minor in the scope of things.

Steamedcrab, portions of the U Street area have a two-hour limit for non-stickered vehicles, but in the past year the city has designated some blocks as reserved at ALL times for residential permit holders. One such location I know of is the north side of the 900 block of T Street, but there are others. Everyone beware.

Well...remember, I'm not complaining. I feel like I got my money's worth and then some. Now, had my car been towed, the feeling would be different. However, the ticket was issued at 1:32, just minutes after we walked away from the car. Again, ticket was paid; car was not towed; chili dog was great; experience was one I had been looking forward to for years. I am one happy camper.

Reading about all of the parking hassles reaffirms my belief that I should stick to public transportation whilst in DC.

I would like to try Ben's, but it's gonna be a hard sell to my mom, sis, and DD, who aren't huge chili fans. What "experience" made it so worthwhile?

I'm a second happy camper :-)

tenthumbs, it's just a neighborhood and DC institution that's been there a long time, and has attracted lots of well known people. The food is fun, with pretty good chili served over hot dogs, smoked sausages, french fries, etc. Nothing that will blow your hat off in a culinary way, just more like a landmark.

Actually when I happen to be working in DC these days, my favorite lunch stops are either the Amsterdam Falafel shop on 18th Street in Adams Morgan, or the taco & pupusa places on 14th Street above Columbia Heights.

The parking hassles are a new phenomenon -- the area was quite rundown until about 5 years ago when gentrification took off in a huge way. The number of restaurants went from about 4 (Ben's plus a few Ethiopian places) to scores, and the newly arrived young homeowners (rehabbing rowhouses, few with garages) were finding it impossible to park near their homes, so the city tightened parking rules in favor of taxpaying DC residents. We love visitors but recommend they use abundant public transit: Metro, buses, and taxis.

tenthumbs, I'll tag you in some pics.

kayd, it really was a lovely area. I'd be happy living there. :-)

Thanks, starrs! I saw a few of your pix, but when you posted, I was viewing from my phone.......

Just to offer another view on the food...I don't love it. As stated its been around forever and within the last ten years or so started getting lots of press and this vaulted reputation.. Of course having the prez show up intensified the popularity. But really, DC has much better food. I agree that the falafel shop on 18th ST in Adams Morgan has great falafels.

It reminds me of the Varsity in Atlanta. Some people love it. Some people don't. Both are institutions - and both serve up good chili dogs. :-)