I've been wrong for a while about Etete. A couple years back, I went to Etete, before it was remodeled, or had been written up by everyone and their brother and I had a horrible experience. The food was lackluster and the service was bad -- so bad I almost walked out. So, with so many choices in DC for Ethiopian food, I never went back.

Meanwhile, everyone has been talking about it like it's the greatest Ethiopian food you can get in DC. Many blogs have written about it; The Post; Washingtonian; Food and Wine. I've been wondering what happened that first time I went there so long ago. Was it some kind of fluke? Did I happen to walk into the place next door by mistake? I had to know.

We had a chance to stop by Etete last week. Amy has been craving Ethiopian food for a while now and we just happened to be over in the U Street area. With as much as we've all heard about Etete, I was surprised that we were able to walk in and sit down immediately. The seating is first come first serve, and the tables are very close together.A large group of boisterous friends having a great time were seated at the table right next to us, but we didn't mind. However, mood and atmosphere are probably not the best reasons to go here.

As I mentioned before, the restaurant has been remodeled since we were last there. You used to be able to sit at the bar and that's gone now, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on whether or not you're someone who likes to sit alone at a bar to eat. As part of the remodel, the owners added seating upstairs too.

Amy only wanted vegetarian dishes, but I was in the mood for some Kitfo so we ordered both. I was very curious what Etete's Special Kitfo. What made is so special? The server asked how I wanted it cooked, raw, medium, or well. I can't imagine eating kitfo cooked. I know the first time I ordered it at an Ethiopian restaurant, I was nervous. Eating raw beef is always a bit of a risk, but someone once put it to me this way. "What's the difference between kitfo and steak tartare?"

If your a vegetarian eating with non-vegetarian people, you should note that Etete (and most other Ethiopian restaurants for that matter) bring out the dishes all on the same plate. So it's likely that once everyone starts digging in with their injera that your vegetarian lentil dish will get mixed in with some of the sauces from the meat dishes. My kitfo was in the middle and all of Amy's various vegetarian dishes were surrounding it: red and yellow lentils; shaved cabbage and carrots; mustard, garlic and onion lentils; and tomatoes and onions.

I have to say that all of our food was really excellent. The kitfo was very tender and lean, and the flavors were a perfect combination of butter and spice, yet you could still taste the flavor of the meat. The special seasoned cottage cheeses were a nice compliment as well. I was mixing in some of Amy's vegetarian dishes and everything just went wonderfully together or by itself. We ate everything on the plate and I had room for more so we ate the injera that they cover the plate with.

(Actually, writing about this one an empty stomach is making me want to go back very soon.)

The service was fine. I mean, I'm not looking for 4 or 5 star treatment at a place like this, but I'm mainly looking for the server to come by and check on us once is a while to make sure that everything is okay and and that we don't need anything else. The servers did all of that pretty well. The only issue we had the whole night is that the Coke that Amy ordered initially was completely frozen and somehow shaken up at the same time. When she opened it, it fizzed up all over the place, but because it was frozen, she couldn't open it all the way so it just continued to fizz and fizz. The tables next to us noticed and were giving us their napkins, but there wasn't enough and it was about the run off the table onto our laps. The servers seemed completely oblivious as they walked by several times until I yelled out "Help!". It was actually quite comical.

I also ordered some honey wine for the first time, but I probably won't again. It was too sweet for my taste. I can see how it contrasts some of the spicier Ethiopian dishes OK, but I'd much rather prefer a good lager with Ethiopian food.

I think it's safe to say that our first visit, like the Coke "incident" this time, was somewhat of a fluke. I probably should've gone back to Etete sooner, but like I said, there are so many options for Ethiopian food in DC that it was hard to, which really shows how hard it can be for restaurants. One bad experience can turn a diner off for a long time. I'm happy to say we'll be going back soon.

Etete
1942 9th Street NW
Washington DC 20009
(202) 232-7600
Map

www.eteterestaurant.com

Dress Code: Very Casual
Parking: Street Parking can sometimes be found
Closest Metro: U Street
Reservations: Not Taken
Baby-Child friendly rating: 2 diapers. They have child seats, but that's about it when it comes to kids. Not kids menu or anything like that, so unless you think your child will eat Tibs or Wat, you should probably think twice about it.

One of the few good things about working out in Largo is that I am close to a fabulous Jamaican/Caribbean eatery called Negril. Now, I know that Negril is no secret, at least to those of us that have lived in DC for more than a year, but I figured I would write about it anyway for the few people out there who haven't tried it yet. Negril has been doing what they do for more than 18 years now and have four locations around the beltway. As a family owned business, they control the recipes and quality of the food served quite well.

Lunch is a must at Negril. If you're in a hurry, Negril might not be the place for you. The line can be kind of long and all of the food is made fresh to order. I've waited 20 minutes sometimes for my order, but it's definitely worth it. You wait in line, give your order and you'll get a number. The smart thing is to call ahead, and then pick up your order which you can then eat there or take back to the office. 

For a couple years now, I've been going to Negril for lunch and only ordering one thing, the jerk chicken sandwich. I know, that's extremely boring, but have you had the jerk chicken sandwich??!! Think of moist, tender, and spicy jerk chicken topped with a lemony poppyseed sauce and served on their warm, fluffy fresh-made coco bread. Why do they call it coco bread? I have no idea. It's surely not made with coconuts.

The sandwich is fairly large, so it's enough by itself for lunch. However, I'll add one of the meat, vegetable, or chicken vegetable patties on the side. If your appetite isn't as large as mine, a quick lunch is one of these patties, with an order or coco bread. At $1.35 - $2.25 for the patty and $1 for the coco bread, it's about the cheapest lunch that I can think of around here. Just open up the coco bread by tearing it in half, put the patty in the middle, and close it. Voila! A Jamaican patty sandwich.

Recently, I've branching out a bit and trying some of the other dishes at Negril. My current favorite is the chicken or goat roti. When I saw the word roti in the name of the dish, the first thing I thought of was an Indian whole wheat roti, and that's really what this is. Of course the roti is stuffed with a ton of tender shredded curried chicken, but for those of you who a scared of curry, don't let this scare you. It's NOT hot or overly spicy.  The next dish I want to try is the curried oxtail.

Negril is super cheap and you can get an incredible lunch for between $4 and $10 every time you go there. The portions are huge too, so you don't have to worry about needing a mid-afternoon snack. The only thing you do have to worry about is the afternoon food coma.

Negril
Gaithersburg
18509 N. Frederick Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD
(301) 926-7220
Map

Howard
2301-G Georgia Ave. NW
Washington, DC
(202) 332-3737
Map
    
Mitchellville
12116 Central Ave.
Mitchellville, MD
(301) 249-9101
Map

Silver Spring
965 Thayer Ave.
Silver Spring, MD
(301) 585-3000
Map