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Meats & Foods wins Best Half-Smoke in Washington, DC!

Stachowski's Market, Ben's Chili Bowl ,The Big Stick and Bold Bite in top five

If you've ever cheered on the Nats or gone for a beer or two on U Street, you're probably familiar with DC's signature street eat, the half-smoke. The name refers to a spicy pork and beef sausage, typically larger and courser than a hot dog, that is most commonly served on a soft bun and smothered in chili, mustard and onions.

  • EatBar

    The half-smoke at EatBar comes topped with beef and bacon chili and white American Cheeze Whiz – a twist on the classic 'wich. It comes with a side salad or fries.
    Photo courtesy of EatBar

  • The Passenger

    Famous for its cocktails, The Passenger also boasts a worthwhile food menu. Their massive half-smoke comes loaded with finely diced onions and meaty chili.
    Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

  • HalfSmoke

    It's no surprise that a place called HalfSmoke has a great half-smoke on their menu. This beef and pork smoked sausage comes on a toasted bun with a whole range of topping options, from the classic chili, cheese and mustard to interesting items like beer cheese, pulled pork or hummus.
    Photo courtesy of HalfSmoke

  • DCity Smokehouse

    DCity Smokehouse serves their half-smoke two ways – a classic version with nacho cheese, brisket chili and yellow mustard and The Big Snoop (pictured), topped with pulled pork, coleslaw and BBQ sauce.
    Photo courtesy of DCity Smokehouse

  • Straw Stick & Brick Delicatessen

    Straw Stick & Brick serves a sizable menu of hot sandwiches; one of them is a classic DC half-smoke topped with chili and cheese.
    Photo courtesy of Straw Stick & Brick

  • Bold Bite

    Known for its hickory-smoked burgers, Bold Bite also serves almost a half dozen different half-smokes, including a classic version with onions, spicy mustard and chili. Vegetarians can even partake by subbing in an Italian veggie sausage.
    Photo courtesy of Bold Bite

  • The Big Stick

    One of several sausage options at The Big Stick is the Half Street Smoke, a half-smoke with house-made chili, cheddar cheese, onions and jalapeños.
    Photo courtesy of The Big Stick Restaurant & Sports Bar

  • Ben's Chili Bowl

    The Original Chili Half-Smoke, the signature item at Ben's Chili Bowl, features a 1/4-pound beef and pork smoked sausage on a steamed bun with mustard, onions and a fiery house-made chili. This is the original, made famous in 1958.
    Photo courtesy of Ben's Chili Bowl

  • Stachowski's Market

    Stachowski's Market makes all their sausages daily in-house, and that extensive sausage menu often includes a classic half-smoke garnished with chili.
    Photo courtesy of Stachowski's Market

  • Meats & Foods

    The Meats & Foods half-smoke is a blend of beef and pork, handmade and smoked in-house. It's grilled to order and topped with toppings of choice. The classic version comes with all-beef chili, onions and yellow mustard, but other options include sauerkraut, bacon or vegetarian chili.
    Photo courtesy of Carissa Craven / Meats & Foods

No one is quite sure how the half-smoke originating, but some believe the sausage was first produced by Briggs & Co. meatpackers in the 1930s. In 1954, Weenie Beenie opened in Shirlington and began grilling half-smokes, followed by Ben's Chili Bowl in 1958. 

10Best and Sandwich America wanted to find the best half-smoke in the District, so the editors joined forces with local DC food writers and The Food Channel to nominate 20 worthy restaurants across the city. For the past four weeks, our readers have been voting for their favorites, and the results are in.

The top 10 winners in the category Best Half-Smoke in Washington, DC are as follows:

  1. Meats & Foods
  2. Stachowski's Market
  3. Ben’s Chili Bowl
  4. The Big Stick
  5. Bold Bite
  6. Straw Stick & Brick Delicatessen
  7. DCity Smokehouse
  8. HalfSmoke
  9. The Passenger
  10. EatBar

Congratulations to all 10 of our winning half-smoke shops in DC!

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Alert The Experts

Susan Able

Susan Able

Susan Able is Publisher and Editor in chief of Edible DC, DC's best award-winning food magazine dedicated to telling the story behind the Capital region's vibrant local food movement.

Jennifer Daskevich

Jennifer Daskevich

After winning the World Sandwich Championships, Jennifer took her love of America’s first and still favorite “hand held device” better known as the sandwich, and founded Sandwich America, America’s comprehensive sandwich driven meal occasion platform. Jennifer believes that “a sandwich is the only food genre that is good for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or a snack.” Jennifer has won numerous cooking competitions and is a restaurateur, wine sommelier, award winning food photographer, TV food personality with NBC Affiliate WFLA in Tampa and appeared on FYI’s original series World Food Championships. She looks forward to embarking on The Great American Sandwich Trail this summer. Socialize with Sandwich America on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Hungry Lobbyist

Hungry Lobbyist

HungryLobbyist.com is a premier food and lifestyle website covering the Washington, DC area and beyond. With a team of over twenty contributors, their recommendations have been featured in The New York Times, on television, and more. Fox News said about HungryLobbyist.com, that it’s, “An atypical Washington D.C. inside-the-beltway blog that’s actually meaningful outside the beltway as well.” The site has become a must-read for District dwellers and visitors alike as it takes a satirical, often ironic, and more often humorously judgmental look at restaurants, politics, fashion, DC events, and more.

Kay Logsdon

Kay Logsdon

Kay serves as Editor in Chief of The Food Channel, developing food-related stories, videos, recipes and more for the website and its distribution network. She speaks and consults on food trends, working with some of the biggest food brands in America. Her favorite thing to do is work with chefs across the country as they do menu development, since she gets to taste and critique the dishes.

Nevin Martell

Nevin Martell

Nevin Martell is a D.C.-based food, travel and lifestyle writer who has been published by the Washington Post, New York Times, Saveur, Men’s Journal, Fortune, Travel + Leisure, Runner’s World and many other publications. He is the dining editor for DC Modern Luxury, and the author of seven books, including The Founding Farmers Cookbook: 100 Recipes for True Food & Drink and the small-press smash Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip. Currently, he is co-writing Red Truck Bakery‘s cookbook, which will be published by Clarkson Potter in the fall of 2018.

Iris Sherman

Iris Sherman

Co-founder of Kitchology, Iris is an entrepreneur and mom dealing with food allergies in the family. Her passion is to make a difference, especially for those who are dealing with special dietary needs, by providing the tools to deliver the right food experience along with the community to embrace it. Follower her on Twitter.