Half a smoke, half a smoke, half a smoke onward

Great and manifold are the ways in which my home city of Washington, DC is misunderstood: let us restrict ourselves here to the slander that the city lacks an indigenous food. Chicago has Italian beef and hot dogs; New York has pizza; Philadelphia has cheesesteaks; Washington has chain restaurants and pleated-front khakis. Washington's signature food is in fact the half-smoke, a sausage whose name and origin are shrouded in mystery that this excellent article plumbs. The article is worth reading even if you have no interest in sausage (and what an unimaginably tragic condition that would be): it is a shining example of how popularity can destroy and stubborn pride can sustain and revive the same product. For my money, to get a good one skip the lunch carts and head for The Shrine.