
Ben’s Chili Dogs, one of the oldest restaurants in the City-by-the-Sea, is located on Broadway….where the locals eat. It was founded in 1969 and operated until 2010 by the Bienvenue brothers, Adrian and Jerry. Ben was Adrian’s nickname, and the store is affectionately called Ben’s by locals. Ben’s is known for cheap eats that fit a family budget, most notably grilled hot dogs in steamed buns that practically melt in your mouth. Available toppings include homemade cheese sauce, homemade Coney Island-style chili sauce, and sauerkraut. The cheese sauce is wildly popular! Try the cheese dogs, some chili-cheese dogs, or the classic hot dogs with The Works: mustard, chili, onions and celery salt.
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Ben’s Chili Dogs | Newport, RI
Ben’s Chili Dogs – Newport, RI Restaurant | Menu + Delivery
Reviews
The chili and cheese sauces are homemade and the buns are kept in a steam pan which keeps them fluffy and warm. The hot dog itself is also very tasty, so the combination of the seemingly simple but deliciously homemade ingredients come together to make the perfect chili & cheese dog. I honestly haven’t tried anything else on the menu. I once tried having onions and seasoning on my chili cheese dog which I didn’t really like, and another time I tried a sample of the chourico topping (which apparently is popular) which I thought was good, but my favorite remains the basic chili & cheese dog. It’s so good that I don’t want to risk ruining one of them with toppings I may not like!
But I do intend to eventually explore the rest of the menu which includes sausage and peppers, clear RI clam chowder, and another soup (or soups?) I believe. They also have a variety of toppings for the hot dogs that you would expect such as ketchup, mustard, onions, pepper, maybe some other seasonings, etc. And I’m sure you can get a plain hot dog, or dog with just chili or cheese.
The manager & staff are friendly and you can tell they care about serving quality food. The space is small and you can see behind the counter into the kitchen so it kind of has an open and cozy feel. There are a few tables inside but I live close by so I usually get the chili dogs to go. Being individually wrapped, they are pretty easy to eat while walking, and you can lick the cheese sauce off the wrapper.
My only complaint with this place is that they are not open long enough, at least for my admittedly strange preferred eating times. It seems like a pretty small operation and I guess they don’t have the staff or don’t think it would be worth it to stay open longer. Also, they are cash only which is an inconvenience to those of us who like to use cards for everything. There is an ATM with a ~$2 fee and a $100 per transaction limit. But wow, I don’t know of any better place to get a chili cheese dog than Ben’s Chili Dogs!
To once visiting town and this is just sad to me. Not the way it used to be. Please do better like Ben always did!! #local