Talk:Ben's Chili Bowl/Archives/2012

Encyclopedic?

With the greatest of respect to those who have put work in on this article, could someone explain exactly how this is encyclopedic? It reads very much like an advertisment for a non-notable business (WP:NOT - 'Wikipedia is not the Yellow pages'). The fact that it is sourced etc is good to see, but doesn't seem to affect the fundamental defect of non-notability. Comments?

Xdamr^talk 03:01, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

I consider the fact that the business is about the only one to have survived the 1968 riots and the Green Line construction as making it fairly notable, among other things. SchuminWeb (Talk) 03:50, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

A lot of property is damaged in urban unrest. Some unrest is relatively trivial, other unrest is significant - however the fact that one particular business escaped relatively unscathed doesn't make it significant, however important the riot itself was. Likewise for the Green Line construction - survival alone is not necessarily notable. If significant events took place in the building in connection with these events then that could be notable, but merely being an observer of history doesn't seem to qualify.

Xdamr^talk 03:59, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

I think the distinction is not that it is the only business with a direct link to Black Broadway, but that it is known and reported as that business. It seems to meet Wikipedia:Notability (companies and corporations)'s "The company or corporation has been the subject of multiple non-trivial published works whose source is independent of the company or corporation itself." - BanyanTree 13:26, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Ben's Chili Bowl has attained the status of a local institution in Washington, in the same way that Nathan's Famous on Coney Island has become a landmark or The Brown Derby in Los Angeles was one. --Largo Plazo 15:00, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree that Ben's Chili Bowl is indeed notable. It has served as a meeting place for countless organizations and activists during the civil rights movement and provided a vital service by remaining open during the 1968 riots despite the risk. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has even been to Ben's. Plus, most Washingtonians consider the restaurant notable by labeling it a Washington Landmark. That's quite significant for any business not to mention a small family owned one. President Bush painting a mural of Ben's only reinforces my sentiment. Tboogie 04:15, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

Bush painting

The front page photo at the Washington Post site currently is President Bush painting a mural of Ben's facade as part of the MLK community service day at Cardozo High School. Find the photo section linked here. It should be the second photo in the set. - BanyanTree 22:50, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

If nothing else, it's worth a footnote, perhaps, if we can figure out how to link to it directly. SchuminWeb (Talk) 15:49, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

If it had been a White House photo, I wouldn't have hesitated to upload it. I just thought it was amusing, after the discussion about notability here, to see Bush painting "Ben's Chili Bowl" lettering on the front page of WaPo. - BanyanTree 16:43, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Here it is: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/images/20070115-2_p011507pm-0105w-515h.html --Aude (talk) 17:05, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Great image finding! That's sheer awesomeness. I've substituted a cropped version that has more Ben's and less people in hallway. I am highly amused. - BanyanTree 18:13, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

WP:FOOD Tagging

This article talk page was automatically added with {{WikiProject Food and drink}} banner as it falls under Category:Restaurants or one of its subcategories. If you find this addition an error, Kindly undo the changes and update the inappropriate categories if needed. You can find the related request for tagging here -- TinucherianBot (talk) 07:51, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

trivial?

This music review by salon.com mentions a song by Unrest entitled "Ben's Chili Bowl". Does anyone think it should be mentioned in this article? APK say that you love me 21:25, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

No. The mention of the Chili Bowl song is only made in passing. If the article were specifically about that song, then maybe. But as it stands, no. SchuminWeb (Talk) 02:37, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

That's what I figured. Gracias. APK say that you love me 02:55, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Ben's Chili Bowl/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Nikkimaria (talk) 01:53, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Hello! I will be reviewing this article for potential GA status. My review should be posted shortly. Cheers, Nikkimaria (talk) 01:53, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

I've decided to list this article as a GA, and leave the below as suggestions for further improvement. Good job! Nikkimaria (talk) 13:57, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Writing and formatting

• "while police used conducted surveillance" - grammar
• How/why did cakes and pies attract addicts?
• "many of Ben's sausages" - does this refer to sausages that Ben made, or ones that he developed a recipe for, or generic sausages for the restaurant?

Accuracy and verifiability

• "the sign was later altered to state "but he paid"" - source? Also, was it altered by the Ali family or anonymously?
• Keep format the same between References and Further reading
• Use a consistent formatting for references. For example, "James Beard Foundation" or "The James Beard Foundation"?
• Ref 2: page(s)?
• Use pp only for multiple pages
• Refs 4, 6, 20: retrieval date?
• Ref 14: publisher?

Broad

No issues noted

Neutrality

• If anything, a bit pro-Ben's. No major concerns, though

Stability

No problems

Images

• Make sure captions are neutrally worded and/or sourced
• Source link for the Bush image is dead

Thanks for the review. I've fixed some of the issues and will gradually fix others that are a little difficult. Wizardman _{Operation Big Bear} 18:05, 16 October 2010 (UTC)