Washington D.C. is a city of great diversity, and with great diversity comes great food. Outside of the immediate area of Georgetown, the city and the greater Washington D.C. area of Virginia and Maryland encompasses many ethnic groups, creating pockets of undiscovered restaurants.
If you’ve been a student for long enough at Georgetown, you’ve likely had the opportunity to eat Ethiopian food at least once. Drawn by the mystique of a cuisine we had not yet experienced, we too found ourselves curiously making our way to Das, undoubtedly the most popular Ethiopian restaurant for Georgetown students. Though the robust, slightly sour smells of sponge bread and spicy lentils did not fail to pique our hunger, upon further inspection, there was something amiss about the place. We slowly put the pieces together.
Das is situated in a quaint 19th-century brick townhome. The clientele appeared to be the usual neighborhood mix: politicians, students, young professionals, retired diplomats. OK, nothing wrong with that. Next. Appraising our fellow diners, we were suddenly startled by the stark segregation. The cooks, waiters and waitresses, bus boys and the rest of the staff were all Ethiopian, but none of the clientele was. We began to wonder where Ethiopians themselves ate, and we set out to answer the question.
As we learned from several slightly awkward conversations with taxi drivers, the District’s large Ethiopian population is settled mostly in the U Street area. For those willing to venture outside of the immediate Georgetown area, foodies and generally anyone with a courageous palette will be awarded with a delightful dining experience. We eventually decided upon Habesha Market in the U Street area as our choice destination for the cultural experience we were seeking.
Plastered in curvy Ethiopian script, the hole-in-the-wall storefront appearance immediately drew us in. As we opened the door, a wave of unfamiliar aromas emanated from a kitchen. Reading the menu proved difficult, as most of the dishes’ names, though translated, didn’t have any meaning to us. Relying on our waiter, we ordered the Taste of Habesha, which consisted of spicy lentils, yellow peas, collard greens, cabbage, shiro, key wot, alicha wot, gomen besga, doro wot and menchet abesh all served on top of sponge bread. Don’t worry, we were just as confused as you are. As we sat down waiting for what we hoped to be a delectable meal, we saw old men reading Ethiopian language newspapers and neighbors coming in and out calling one another’s names. We began to realize this was not just a restaurant and market but the heart and soul of the community. Although we weren’t surprised that a restaurant would act as a social center for this community, we became familiar with an Ethiopian phrase: “Those who eat from the same plate will not betray each other.” The expression continues to ring true, epitomized in the act of gursha, where one wraps some kitfo or wat with his or her sponge bread and places it into the mouth of another, a show of trust and love.
Ethiopian food uses an array of colorful spice powders: the berbere, a spicy red mixture of garlic, chili and salt, the bright orange mitmita made of chili, seeds and salt, among many others. A central item of the cuisine are the wots, or stews. During a traditional meal, you’ll find yourself tearing apart a piece of the injera, or sponge bread, and scooping up portions of beef and chicken stews. Some of the ingredients serve as strong symbols of the culture and often reveal the facts of Ethiopian history. As one of the longest continuously inhabited regions in the world, Ethiopian food has developed a complex variety of flavors that only few other cuisines can begin to challenge.
The beef stew at Habesha Market proved to be a spicier, tangier version of ground beef, with the strong, hearty and grainy texture that all stews generally share. The menchet abesh, or lean beef, was ground and cooked with jalapenos and onions, and proved to have a more citric flavor. We mixed the shiro, or chickpea paste, with lamb and collared greens, which served as a respite from the intense spiciness of the rest of the plate. At the end of the meal, the plate was devoured, our stomachs were full and we were certainly satisfied.
