No one eats at Ben’s Chili Bowl more than Alex Cross
Amazon Prime’s new hit show, "Cross," spotlights the historic DC food establishment Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Amazon Prime dropped its highly anticipated “Cross” series last week, and the masses are loving the moody Black detective saga based on James Patterson’s acclaimed book series. The series stars Aldis Hodge in the titular role of Alex Cross.
As the show is set in Washington, D.C., watching it as a DMV native and resident has been a treat. The show is not only set in the nation’s capital, but it actually feels like it for once. Instead of the uninspired aerial shots of the U.S. Capitol and familiar monuments that most D.C.-set shows and films add to represent regional character, this one makes a character of the city itself.
There are shots of colorful rowhomes, scenes of locals jamming to go-go in the streets, neoclassical buildings not just near the White House, and (minor plot spoiler) sketchy, mysterious white folk in Georgetown. It was also genuinely nice to see the DMV Boys, the bike crew who loudly roam the streets of the DMV, get an honorable mention.
However, in their attempt to show real life in Washington, D.C., the showrunners seem to have gotten one thing horribly wrong. No one — and I repeat, absolutely no one — goes to Ben’s Chili Bowl as much as Alex Cross.
The man is constantly eating at the historic and now-iconic chili place. Every time he’s not at home or solving cases, Cross is seemingly stuffing his face with chili dogs. It’s honestly weird. Several of his friends and colleagues are also constantly there. They even hold intimate discussions at full volume about sensitive cases they supposedly don’t want the public to know about. It isn’t just me, either; as more and more discover the show, more are starting to notice the weird habit.
“I’m halfway through Cross on Amazon Prime, and the most unbelievable part is how often they eat at Ben’s Chili Bowl,” wrote user @thekeyresource on Threads. “Anyone who’s lived in DC knows that only tourists eat there. DC residents don’t eat there multiple times a week on purpose 🤣.”
For those less familiar, yes, Ben’s Chili Bowl is very much real. In fact, since filming of the first season wrapped, Hodge has visited the establishment. Aside from actually being very delicious, the restaurant has been in the city for over 60 years. It was founded in the late ‘50s by Ben Ali, a Trindadian-born immigrant who had studied at Howard University, which is not too far from Ben’s.
As someone who grew up less than 40 minutes outside of D.C. and worked, lived, and played in the city for the better part of a decade, I can assure you that Ben’s is not an everyday kind of place. It’s not even widely considered a during-the-day kind of place. Most people happen upon Ben’s at the end of their night spent bar-hopping on U-street (where it’s based).
I mean, for one, it wouldn’t even be healthy to eat chili dogs as much as Cross is purported to. Seriously, what grown man with a physique like that is eating chili dogs that often? Alex Cross is surely on some bougie keto kind of diet.
Also, a D.C. professional is certainly not eating greasy, albeit delicious, seriously messy chili dogs in the middle of their work day. Let’s be honest: If Alex Cross is truly a D.C.-based character, he’s getting Chipotle. He gives big lunch-break-burrito energy.
Besides that, Ben’s is not the only restaurant in the city. It is not the only historical one. It is also not the only one that matters to Black people. I mean, I would expect Alex Cross to be holed up in Stan’s, a cocktail lounge and restaurant on Vermont Avenue, or even the Florida Avenue Grill. If showrunners want to spread the love a little more, there are loads of Black-owned eateries like Dukem Ethiopian, Horace & Dickie’s Seafood Carryout, NuVegan Cafe, HalfSmoke, and more. DMV diners typically frequent several eateries rather than just one regular place.
Slight spoiler alert, but given the repressed, depressed, and stressed widower vibes he’s got going, I do think Cross would also be regularly pondering his complex life in a bar. Actually, he would so be in a bar like Stan’s. He’s got no reason to be eating out, to be honest. The man lives with his grandmother — she’s helping him look after his children; that has got to involve cooking for them!
Thinking about the fact that Cross is a widower struggling to grieve, however, does make me wonder if all the chili dogs might be a plot device. Perhaps he’s biding his time in the casual eaterie hoping to sop up his sadness with all of those hotdog buns.
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