While those residing in D.C. proper rely on Ben’s Chili Bowl for their half-smoke needs, Arlingtonians have long had their own classic half-smoke purveyor: the Weenie Beenie.

We’d been foolishly ignoring the Weenie Beenie for years until a recent conversation with a co-worker convinced us that we’d been missing out on a genuine slice of old-school Arlington. He clinched it for us when he noted that his old man used to hit the Weenie Beenie for two half-smokes every Saturday morning, which may be one of the most disturbing testimonials to excellence that we’ve ever heard.

The Weenie Beenie — an orange-roofed shack perched on a dusty semi-industrial/semi-residential stretch of Shirlington Road — is actually the vestige of what was once a billiards champion’s modest fast food empire. Bill “Weenie Beenie” Staton, who died earlier this year, was a champion pool player and a trick-shot master whose prowess garnered him appearances on the Tonight Show and the Mike Douglas Show.