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At Ben's Chili Bowl, a side of art: The new graffiti-inspired mural
August 30, 2012
By Clinton Yates for The Root DC Live
August 31, 2012
At first sight, you might call it the Mount Rushmore of Half-Smokes. Or maybe the Four Horsemen of the Chili-pocalypse. Personally, I’ll go with the Ben’s Wall of Fame. Whatever you choose to nickname the new mural that adorns the outside wall of D.C.’s iconic Ben’s Chili Bowl, you have to admit: It’s beautiful.
Portraits of Chuck Brown, Bill Cosby, President Obama and Donnie Simpson now serve as greeters if you find yourself in one of the lines that often snake around the building. The mural is on the east side of the alley that separates the restaurant from the Lincoln Theater, and although it might seem like an obvious fit for Ben’s, the idea was nearly a year in the making.
