Washington DC (Winter 2026) - Day 3

Headed up to the U Street neighborhood this morning to look for the other food destination on this trip. When you exit the metro station here you can find this memorial for African American Civil War soldiers.

Ben’s Chili Bowl

I headed for the famous Ben’s for some hot dogs. The original location was under renovation so I ate at the temporary location across the street.

I tried the dogs with the chili and without (just mustard and onions). I would say it was just ok. I had to go try it but I’m not sure it was good enough that I would feel I need to go back.

The dogs are half beef and half pork so hence the “half smoke” name. They are big and messy so definitely a knife and fork affair.

Lincoln Memorial

The last time I visited here was decades ago. It was a nice cool day to take a walk along the pool. There was some construction around the monument. The construction seemed to be a theme for a lot of the museums and monuments as there was a lot of renovation going on.

WWII Memorial (Under Renovation)

This was a new memorial to me as I had not been to DC since it had been established, but like a lot of things, it was being renovated. It is located on the other side of the Reflecting Pool from the Lincoln Memorial.

Korean War Memorial

This was another new memorial that I had not seen before. The Korean War Memorial is off to the side of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Walking my way back to the Mall. The different colored stones making up the memorial stand out in the bright light.

National Archives

One of the four remaining original copies of the Magna Carta

I had a little time to kill still before meeting up with friends so I popped into the Archives. There was not much of a line to get in on this weekday and this place is small enough that I don’t need to spend several hours exploring it. It had been again decades since I had been here last. The main attraction is still the “Big 3” documents in the main rotunda.

Views from the Mall

Passed this monument on my walk into town for the basketball game

City Tap House

Met up with some friends here for some pre-game beer and snacks. Pretty much all of the bars were packed with fans watching the other big game going on that day. We were lucky that one of the guys we were with knew someone from their alumni club and we were able to get a few seats. People were generally nice enough. No one gave me crap about my Michigan apparel.

College Hoops! Capital One Arena

One of the biggest non-conference games of the year but it was not consequential since both teams would likely be top seed in their preferred region regardless of the outcome.

Unfortunately the good guys didn’t win and Michigan lost by 5 at the end.

Bulldog

Had some post-game beers here. Seating was still tight after the game but we were able to find a table. This bar kind of had a college town sports bar feel with beer buckets and a simple snack menu.

Jackpot

Decided to get one more drink before heading back to the hotel. I though this place would be a chill dive bar spot for a bourbon but it wound up being packed and loud.

HipCityVeg

I ate Vegan by accident this night. A lot of places to eat were closed pretty early so I went here thinking I was getting a fried chicken sandwich. Only later did I realize it was a vegan version. Tasted pretty good though.