Archive for November, 2010

Did y’all know Washington D.C. has the largest population of Ethiopians outside of Ethiopia?

I didn’t until this past weekend when I went on the DC Metro Food Tour of Little Ethiopia. While unofficial, Little Ethiopia is located in the Shaw neighborhood and centered around 9th and U Streets, Northwest.

The tour (usual size is six people) begins with breakfast at Habesha Market and Carry-Out. Lynn, our knowledgble and easy-going tour guide, selected three delicious dishes for us: foul (pronounced more like foal), kinche and tibs. The foul was my favorite, a combo of smashed and spiced beans, eggs and a dallop of yougurt. Kinche is cracked wheat blended with herbs, spices, tomatoes, peppers and onions. And the tibs, sauteed pieces of beef, were cooked perfectly. And of course all of this is enjoyed with the traditional spongey Ethiopian bread, injera.

Luckily the second stop gives you a little break from eating, and introduces the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Across the street from Habesha, we entered Little Ethiopa, a charming restaurant with a stage set up in front for live Ethiopian music and traditional low seating around a mesob. During the coffee ceremony, which must be reserved at least one hour in advance, they roasted the coffee beans in front of us while we enjoyed sambusas, a pastry dough filled with lentils.

After the coffee ceremony, the tour guides you to Zenebech Injera, a place you would not likely venture into unless tipped to do so. Roughly 2,ooo rounds of injera are baked there each morning from 3 AM to 11 AM, and then delivered to other Ethiopian restaurants in DC. Here we feasted on lunch. While I don’t remember exactly what was selected, I know it was all delicious. Even the gored gored, which is raw red meat.

Despite being uncomfortably full (it’s impossible to not eat too much), I managed to sample desserts at the final stop. Oddly enough, dessert at Yetenbi was incredibly fresh tasting tiramisu and biscotti, results of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in the late 1930s.

I could not recommend this tour any more highly. Especially if you have adventurous out of town guests visiting. It’s a fun way to experience a unique part of D.C. away from the Smithsonian museums and National Mall. Great Ethiopian food is one of the few cuisines D.C. can claim over other cities, so it really should be enjoyed at least once, and this tour does a fantastic job of making sure the experience is authentic..