Ethiopian food is an integral part of D.C.’s restaurant scene. Refugees who fled their war-ravaged African nation in the 1970s and ’80s settled in the District and kept their culinary traditions alive. Initially rooted around Little Ethiopia at the intersection of Ninth and U Streets NW, the Ethiopian community continues to spread out to parts of Northern Virginia and Maryland. Silver Spring hosts the D.C. area’s biggest Ethiopian cultural festival once a year.
D.C.’s iconic Ethiopian mainstays like Zenebech, Beteseb, and Dukem continue to set the standard with classic dishes like beef tibs, doro wot, and soft, stretchy, sour injera. Standout Chercher is in the midst of an expansion, with current locations in Northwest D.C. and in Bethesda. Adams Morgan’s much-loved Meskerem set the standard until its 2015 closing, but for the most part, options for Ethiopian food have only grown and improved with time.
Park View’s Heat Da Spot and Falls Church’s Nazret are new additions to this map. Shaw will soon get a pair of exciting new Ethiopian options. A new family-owned Ethiopian venture called Broz Dynasty will soon open in the space formerly occupied by Cortez, and acclaimed chef Elias Taddesse (Mélange) will soon remix American soul food with Ethiopian flavors from a new fried chicken carryout.
Here is where to go for the best ayib, sambusas, coffee ceremonies, and kitfo in the DMV.
Read More