Little Ethiopia in DC

Today I bring to you the second installation of my DC staycation.

I was thankful to Destination DC for not making us get up early on Friday morning! I was able to sleep in till 10 am, go to the gym, have a bite of Teaism's salty cookie and only then did I have to meet my fellow food enthusiasts in the lobby of the hotel for a Walking Tour of Little Ethiopia presented by DC Metro Food Tours.
When I received the itinerary for the tour, I was surprised not to see the Ethiopian restaurants I typically visit: Roha, Etete, and Dukem. But I was eager to try out other smaller Ethiopian restaurants in the DC area.

When we got off the tour bus (it was SO nice being shuttled the entire weekend), I saw a group of people and a giant pile of watermelons: I could not resist but take a photo. I absolutely love watermelon, especially in the heat of summer.

Our first stop was Zenebech Injera Deli and Grocery (608 T St NW) where we witnessed how injera is being made. What is injera? It's similar to a very thin pancake or a crepe, but is served at room temperature and has more of a yeasty flavor to it. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photographs of the injera making process.

The injera is made from teff flour. It is cooked on a large flat surface and unlike pancakes, it's cooked only on one side. The injera is then stacked into piles of ten and can be purchased at the store.

But we were there to eat! The food was served family style on big platters. Below is a vegetarian platter: lentils, chickpeas, greens, tomato & jalapeno salad, and beet salad. I've never seen beetst in an Ethiopian restaurant before, but this was a happy surprise as I love beets. The food, if you don't know this, is eaten with your hands and injera is used to scoop up little portion of each of the offerings. The best part, in my opinion is the injera that is right underneath the food: it's soaked with the juices and spices and full of flavor.

The second platter had both cooked and raw beef. I was rather afraid of raw beef, but I gave it a chance and loved it! It was almost like eating tuna carpaccio. This platter also had the same tomato/jalapeno salad, and a very mild home-made cheese: something along the lines of ricotta. It was a great accompaniment to the spicy meat.

And finally, the last dish was chicken stewed in spices and a boiled egg. I'm usually not a fan of dark chicken meat (or turkey for that matter), but the spices in the sauce took care of that. The meat was tender, spicy and comforting despite it being 80+ degrees outside.

Our second stop was at the Habesha Market & Carry out (1919 9th St. NW). Here we tried something I've never had before: Ethiopian breakfast food. (Below is our lovely guide Sarah.)

This is not only a restaurant, but also a mini store: check out the colorful lentils!

This is definitely my kind of breakfast: chunks of lamb with jalapenos, tomatoes and onions:

Grain pilaf:

This dish reminded me of a Sunday breakfast I might make at home: an omelet with a side of stewed beans (or leftover chili) and a spoon-full of sour cream:

A stew of tripe and tongue (I did not try tripe: I've had it before in pho and just can't handle the rubbery texture. The tongue, however, I loved. My mom cooked tongue when I was growing up, so I'm no stranger to this delicacy)

We ended the tour with a coffee ceremony at the Little Ethiopia Restaurant (1924 9th St NW).

In Ethiopia, coffee ceremony takes at least three times a day and lasts for hours. Our version was a bit shorter ;)

The beans were first roasted, then ground and then made into a thick, strong coffee.

This restaurant makes you feel like you are as far away from DC as possible: and sometimes that's not a bad thing.

Coffee is served:

This was a lovely way to find out more about Ethiopian culture, to visit some of the less known places and to sample really good food.

Next up: Dinner at Birch & Barley. If you have read my blog for a while, you know how much I loved their brunch. Will I feel the same about dinner? Come back and find out!