How the Half-Smoke Links a Changing D.C.

CityEats is a series that digs in to what locals eat, and why.

For all the fancy food available in Washington, D.C., these days, the city’s iconic local dish is a humble sausage. Though you could start a fight trying to define the half-smoke, most folks agree that it’s a smoked sausage made with a blend of beef, pork, and spices. (If you’ve got some time on your hands, check out Davie Jamieson’s 2007 epic history of the half-smoke in the Washington City Paper.)