Eating Ethiopian
Tel: 301.589.1400
http://www.addisababarestaurant.com/
I have a very good Ethiopian friend named Roman. We both love to go out and indulge ourselves with delicious food, and in high school we were the ultimate eating buddies! Very few could keep up with our gluttonous appetites. Although we’ve been friends all these years, I just recently had my first Ethiopian meal. “I can’t believe we’re friends, and I’ve never taken you to an Ethiopian restaurant,” exclaimed Roman. “I know,” I replied, “I can’t believe you haven’t either.” And so off we went last Sunday with a bunch of our friends to a quaint little place in downtown
Walking up toward the two-story establishment, my eyes caught festive colors of green, yellow, and red. A glance inside the lower level offered me a sight of beautifully carved wooden tables and chairs, glowing lanterns, and other exotic décor. Since it was a nice evening, we decided to eat on the outdoor patio on the upper level.
Seeing as how we were all virgins to Ethiopian cuisine, Roman took charge and did all the ordering. She explained that Ethiopian dining is communal, and that the spices used in the foods are strong and distinctive. Various stews come served on injera, a flat pancake-like bread that is made from a special grain called teff. There are generally two basic types of stews. Qey wat, or red stew, is a blend of red chilies and spices called berbere, which holds the fieriness that Ethiopian cuisine is known for. Alicha wat is a milder, yellow-colored stew, using turmeric as the main ingredient.
Roman ordered a combination of different meat entrées and vegetable dishes. A couple of the meat items that she ordered included Special Tibs¸ which are strips of beef sautéed with seasoned butter, fresh tomato, berbere, green pepper and onions; and Doro Wat, deliciously seasoned chicken leg, doused with red wine, simmered with berbere sauce, and served with a hard boiled egg. The vegetables items of the evening consisted of cooked cabbage known as Tikil Gomen that was 
prepared with onions and pepper; Kik Alich was a tasty mound of yellow split peas cooked with onions, green peppers and garlic; and Gomen was a side of collard greens also prepared with onions and peppers.
With our freshly washed hands, we each tore off a piece of the injera, and using it as an edible utensil, scooped up flavorful morsels of meat and veggies. The meal was not only delicious, but engaging and a bit interactive as well. Ethiopian wine would have been the perfect accompaniment to our feast, unfortunately however, they were out of our top two choices: Gudar wine, and Honey wine. So instead we settled for a couple bottles of domestic. Nevertheless we all still enjoyed ourselves. Everyone was happy, and my first encounter with Ethiopian food was a success! Now it’s time for Roman to try some Cambodian food…
restaurants, Ethiopian, food, Silver Spring, MD, Tasting Journal
Very cute - I love it!