Standing at the center of the courtyard of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia is a modest little hot dog stand affectionately known as Cafe Ground Zero. It has tendered its fare to hungry Pentagon officials for decades, but is perhaps most noteworthy for being the only known hot dog stand to come under satellite surveillance or to have at least two nuclear warheads targeting it at all times. At least, according to Cold War legend….

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…