The sausage was originally made by Briggs and Co., a D.C. meat-packing company. In 1954, an Arlington, Virginia establishment called Weenie Beenie used this sausage to make a breakfast sandwich.

Synonymous with the half-smoke, the original Ben’s has seen the U Street corridor turn from “Black Broadway” into a rough patch of the city and, now, a thriving nightlife district. The late-night ...