Ben Chili 笨辣椒 - 湖南老饭铺

​I learned my lesson last time and made sure to show up right at 5:00 PM for opening. It’s the best way to beat the dinner rush and avoid the long wait times that usually kick in later. Having the place a bit quieter at the start of the evening makes for a much more relaxed meal. ​The consistency is what really stands out. Everything we ordered was just as good as the first time. Perfectly seasoned and served piping hot. The quality of the ingredients is obvious in every bite. Strongly recommend if you like spicy food.

Food was spectacular. Hunan style spicy dishes really hit the spot a bit more than comparable Sichaun dishes for us as it can be a bit on the spicier side. The stinky tofu was particularly good, just the right amount of stink with amazing pickled vegetables to balance out the flavor with the acidity. The duck and Konjac slices was decent, and was actually better the next day as leftovers with rice. The stir fried beef was one of the favorite dishes for our group, as it was the spiciest out of all the dishes. The intestines was great as well as it was just the right amount of chew and texture with great flavors from the peppers. They prepared it well as there were no off-odors. Overall we all enjoyed this spot and came back for seconds the same week. Both times were consistent across the bo

I was exited to see this resto because it pened in the old spicy Chinese food place, but the spice level is much higher than the old restaurant and the menu states they will not lower the spice level. That's just too bad. :( Its spicy level is way too high for me. I ordered two dishes to-go and ended up dumping them because it's too spicy for me. I suppose that's my problem haha

Ben Chili looks and feels like an authentic Hunan restaurant. There is English on the menu, but nowhere else. If you don't speak Mandarin, you will have to use your phone's translator. Almost every dish I've ever had here is spectacular. The spicy dishes are pretty spicy,, and they don't do spice levels. In fact, they have a sign that says "mild? We don't know what that means." I especially recommend the eggplant and thousand-year-old dish and their signature spicy beef. They don't take reservations or do an online wait list, and the waitlist grows quickly after their opening times.

Fabulous flavors loved both of the dishes we ordered 🥵🌶️🤤