DCist: Teff Love: Zenebech Injera

Xtena

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:39:18 -0500

i went on sunday. my advice: go during the day, get lamb derek tibs with gravy, and only with take-out can you buy beer or wine. the mild is mild. enjoyed it and will return!

arighteouskoz

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:42:34 -0500

Checked out Zenebech last year -- the food is great but the ambiance is off-putting. Do as the Ethiopians do and get take-out. @monekeyrotica: I don't see that the U Street / Shaw places have become less spicy. If they don't reach your colon-scorching ideal, you can always ask for more spice on the side. For all the trash I talk about Dukem's service and crowd control, they still make a mean meal and have good performances if you can grab a table. Zed's in Georgetown and Meskerem in AdMo, however, are years past their prime. The fare is tame and has the critical pale mass to match.

JonboyDC

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:48:50 -0500

Here's a question -- are there any Ethiopian joints in D.C. that deliver?

Josh Novikoff

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:37:30 -0500

The beer at Zenebech is all retail and meant for at home consumption only. $2.50 is the price of a beer because $15 is the sixpack retail price there (and my bet is you're unlikely to find it cheaper elsewhere, though I don't know for sure). If you wanted 12 or more, maybe they would give you a discount. But Zenebech is probably the place to get your Meta 6-packs. Though I don't think that's what Joe is drinking.

titsonabull

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:58:11 -0500

speaking of Meta beer, anyone know a place you can buy a 12 pack or something? ive had it at a couple of Ethiopian restaurants and ive come to look forward to it almost as much as the food. and i enjoy Dukem on U st as the food is good and they sometimes have live traditional music and dancing. not sure how authentic any of it is since i hail from detroit, but spiciness was right at the top end of enjoyable for me, and i do tend to like spicy food. anyway, where can i get some Meta to take home?

yonas

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:56:11 -0500

@IMGoph: I really don't understand why Etete gets so much business. Their food is ridiculously sub-par. Of course, being Ethiopian, my standards may be a little too high. Even so, I just don't get it. @monkeyrotica: well, that's an unfortunate side-effect of having clients that can't "handle" foods when they get too spicy. I think for the most part all of the places on 9th St keep it relatively real. Try Zola's (across the street from DC9), which is technically an Eritrean restaurant (same shit). Their food is usually very spicy.

monkeyrotica

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:40:18 -0500

Has anyone noticed a marked decline in the spiciness of Ethiopian food downtown? I have to tell the server to make it extra spicy, otherwise it ends up at Red Sea/Meskerem levels of blandness. This happened to me with Indian food; I'll order something vindaloo expecting toxic levels of spiciness and end up with something that's barely warm. I know it's standard for foreign cooks to "adapt" to honkey tastes, but still. Half the fun of rich, spicy dishes is all that quality time you get to spend on the commode. And if Monkey ain't spending marathon sessions on the commode reading Infinite Jest, evacuating fire, and burning the drapes,Mmonkey ain't happy.

IMGoph

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:09:45 -0500

etete is great as long as you don't have to share that beautiful dining room with drunk-as-all-hell 23 year old bleached-blonde ditzes who have to SCREAM EVERY WORD so that everyone in the restaurant can hear them. especially when they yell, "we'll, you'll be the first yankee i've ever had!" yeah, i hope you had fun at the rock and roll hotel that night, you annoying bitch. sorry, i don't know where that came from!