Champion Ethio Restaurant & Hookah Lounge’s cuisine in its name: Ethiopian. Their kitchen is only open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but the menu is expansive. Its highlights include Shiro, a stew of powdered legumes served with a side of hot peppers; Kitfo, lean ground beef mixed with cardamom, mitmita (a seasoning mix) and spiced butter; and Laco Bretmitad Tibs, beef sautéed with olive oil, jalapeño, fresh rosemary, onion and garlic.

As Andalusia is both a tea room and a hookah restaurant, they offer both extensively. The menu leans more towards eclectic Mediterranean and their bests include the Andalusia Fries, made with American cheese, garlic and parsley; the Shawarma Dinners (chicken, falafel and gyro) served with hummus, fries, salad, tzatziki sauze and pita bread. Some highlights from the tea menu include Bianca tea, an herbal blend with chamomile, orange peel and hibiscus; and the Egyptian Hibiscus tea, a slightly tart tea with a deep red infusion of hibiscus flowers. It is served sweet.

Gazuza’s food menu consists mostly of sushi. They carry nigiri and sashimi, as well as some classic rolls like the California and Spicy Crunchy Tuna. Their most popular rolls are the Gazuza Roll, made with crab, salmon, shrimp tempura and a spicy mayo and the Lasagna Roll of shrimp tempura, cream cheese and spicy crab.

Apple Lounge’s focuses their menu on Ethiopian snacks and street food to emphasizing the hookah. Since they are situated above Dukem on U St., the chefs down below make the food on their menu. The staff at Apple Lounge recommends the chicken wings, but especially the fried sambusas (lentil, meat, chicken, mixed vegetable and spinach.)

Soussi’s menu focuses on French Moroccan cuisine. Their most popular items include a Shrimp Tagine made with Moroccan spices in a lemon cilantro sauce, the Merguez Sandwich (North African lamb sausage with harissa or Dijon mayo), Moroccan spiced kefta and the Lamb Couscous served with sweet and sour plum sauce.

As a hookah bar with one of the largest menus in the DC area, Fairouz offers appetizers, salads, platters, sandwiches and desserts. Like their name states, the menu is mostly Mediterranean, with dishes like the halal beef or chicken shawarma wraps and the Vegetarian Lovers Mezza, which includes hummus, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, baba ghannouj, tabbouleh and a cheese or spinach pie.