This weekend, Lucas and I headed out to do some shopping, and after a few hours at the outlets, we were ready to eat our own arms.
So, we used our trusty Yelp! apps on our iPhones and found a restaurant called Nile Ethiopian Cuisine.
I’d never had Ethiopian food before, but I love lentils and spicy greens and deep, rich flavors — and Lucas wants to be Anthony Bourdain in his next life. So off we went.
And soon this:
Became this:
Truly, truly amazing — filling, homey and absolutely delicous.
The injera bread gave me some pause … it was sour and yeasty and had the most bizarre texture. I never quite got used to it, although I loved eating my meal with my hands.
We also tried a fried phyllo-wrapped lentil appetizer that may have been the star of the entire meal.
And when Lucas found out that the restaurant had two types of Ethiopian beers and a house-made mead (honey wine), we settled in for the long haul.
When I think of comfort foods, I think of Indian, Greek, Lebanese…and now, I’m adding Ethiopian to the list. The vegetarian selections blew me away (especially the red lentils) and we got a great bargain.
I will admit to feeling a bit of sadness … the restaurant has a big map, featuring Africa — and you can see that the country is smack dab in the middle of a pretty tragic section of the world.
image source: Lonely Planet
Knowing that there is so much turmoil in places like Sudan, Somalia and Yemen made me think of the people who don’t eat this food as a luxury…it’s what they have to survive.
About Katy
I love Ethiopian food — it’s pretty popular here in DC and it’s always a fun vibe and great way to enjoy a long meal with friends. I’m all about trying new cuisines, especially living in a big city that has a little bit of everything. I recently tried West African food (Senegalese), a new one to me!
I’ve never had Ethiopian food, but I’ve always heard great things. Anything wrapped in phyllo has to be delicious. Recently I tried Indian food for the first time, which I loved.
I tried Ethiopian food once, and was sad to find that it was not really my cuppa tea. I just had a strong aversion to the texture and taste of the injera bread! I’m going to try it again soon because I really WANT to like it; you’re absolutely right about it being a comfort food!
One of the best comfort food meals I had recently was sausages and mash with gravy at a restaurant called Mum’s in Edinburgh, Scotland, which I recently reviewed in my most recent blog post!