Yes, Joey Chestnut Ate Two Gallons of Ben's Chili This Weekend
Last week, Ben's Chili Bowl was closed for some plumbing repairs. Given the nature of the repair work, though, it's probably a good thing that the venerable old U Street joint simply settled for providing the material for this weekend's World Chili-Eating Championship, instead of serving as host.
Joey Chestnut, who is, according to Major League Eating, the world's number one competitive eater, ate two gallons of Ben's chili in six minutes during the contest, which was held at the Taste of D.C. festival on Sunday. Chestnut held off challenges from Tim "Eater-X" Janus, Bob "Notorious B.O.B." Shoudt and Alexandria's own Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, all of whom managed to down at least ten pounds of the District's half-smoke topping of choice.
For his victory, Chestnut earned $3,000 and a new world record. Ben's, meanwhile, reopened on Saturday -- though we can't endorse heading over and trying to match Chestnut's gastrointestinal moxie.
UPDATE: Here's the video footage, if you dare.