Drinks flow next door at new Ben’s

Ben’s Chili Bowl is a wildly successful milkshake-and-burger-serving, 50-year-old, celebrity-magnet restaurant on U Street owned by founders Ben and Virginia Ali.

How do you possibly follow that act if you are the Ali sons — Kamal and Nizam?

You open a place called Ben’s Next Door — literally next-door to Ben’s — and serve what the Bowl doesn’t serve — alcohol and fine-dining fare — and become a premier U Street sports-bar destination by lining the walls with flat-screen televisions.

“We’re trying to complement the Bowl,” says Nizam Ali, who co-owns Next Door with his brother. “But we’re still true to ourselves. We’re not trying to be that trendy, hot place that burns out in five years.

“We want to be the place that stays. Like the Bowl.”

Tough luck — face it, you’re trendy.

While Next Door attracts a mixed clientele, it certainly could be characterized as trendy. On a recent Tuesday night, when the Magic succeeded in taking a game from the Lakers in the NBA finals, the beautiful people were three deep at the 53-foot bar and filled all the tables of the back dining room.

Says regular Karl Ott, who has been coming to the Bowl for two decades and recently became a Next Door regular: “The concept works and really does complement the Bowl. Traditional food; a great, warm environment; and beer and wine.”

That’s been a drawback for some patrons of Ben’s Chili Bowl over the decades: no alcohol.

“We heard it over the years, ‘I wish I could have a beer with my chili dog,’ ” Mr. Ali says.

So, when the Ali brothers opened their own place, they made sure the libations would flow. More than three dozen wines are on the menu along with plenty of well-regarded beers. They even do wine tastings.

The food could be described as “high-quality comfort.”

The menu was developed by chef Rahman “Rock” Harper, known to many as a participant in “Hell’s Kitchen,” a reality show on Fox. (The brined fried chicken with mashed potatoes and braised kale is superb.) However, the chef, who had been in the kitchen since the restaurant opened in late December, left recently.

Nizam Ali says there are no hard feelings.

“It gives us an opportunity to add more things, like vegetarian items, to the menu,” he explains.

Story Continues →