As the city stares down another D.C. winter, my thoughts inevitably turn to the warming comfort of D.C.'s Ethiopian food culture. In contrast to a shabby Chinatown and the occasional Latin gem in Adams Morgan, the vibrant Ethiopian scene in D.C. is the shining star of our downtown ethnic cuisine offerings. If you're looking to take visiting family out to a uniquely D.C. dinner, you should really consider an Ethiopian restaurant. Although they are most common around U Street in the 9th-12th Street range, there is also a pocket in Adams Morgan, a few strewn around Georgetown and Logan Circle, and a strong showing in the suburbs. We randomly surveyed six local Ethiopian restaurants to see how they prepare this DCist's favorite specialty: tibs.

Although Ethiopian food tends to be characterized by the braised or stewed dishes called wat, tibs is a dish that resembles a stir-fry. Although there are many variations, the core ingredient list includes lamb or beef, onions, and the traditional berbere spice mix. Cooking methods also vary: many seemed to have been sautéed in butter, but others were grilled, or even deep-fried.

To undertake this survey, I would need help. Ethiopian food is notoriously filling, with the injera filling the role as both utensil and stomach-liner, and several friends joined me on this venture so that we could hit more than one place a night and not be completely stuffed by the end. NB: Our methods were far from scientific. At some places, we ordered beef tibs, while at others, we went with the lamb. A few places only offered one while others offered both. Mostly we just wanted to try as many restaurants as we could in a short time. This is obviously not an exhaustive review of every Ethiopian restaurant in D.C. Feel free to throw your two cents in to the comments.

Photos by Eric Denman

Although the goal was primarily to evaluate tibs dishes, I also tried out the Ethiopian beverages on offer. Many places offered Tej, the honey-wine that is similar to mead, and I found it to be alternately delicious and terrible. The Gorem brand has a sickeningly sweet flavor with a nauseating aroma: it could easily be used as a placebo in a clinical cough syrup test. The Addis Tej brand was much smoother, and I had excellent versions at Etete and Queen Makeda that the servers could not name.

Ethiopian beer deserves a mention, but only because it's not very good. In the past, I've enjoyed the Harar Hakim stout, but none of the places in the survey carried it. Although the beverages were interesting, the real results were definitely more about the tibs.

Madjet: Awesome tender chunks of beef with green pepper and onion. Perfectly sautéed, buttery, with a nice spicy berbere sauce in the middle for dipping. The injera was served on the side, which is interesting because all other tibs dishes on this romp were served atop injera. Terrible cough-syrup tej, a couple Ethiopian beers available.

Almaz: Their tibs consisted of stringy beef that was apparently fried, because it was crispy and a bit oily. It was annoyingly stringy, much like stew meat. The place was completely empty except for a company party in another room, and the result was that it felt like eating dinner in a deserted dance club. Special mention for not having Tej and also being out of Ethiopian beer.

Dukem: Although Dukem came highly recommended, the tibs were a disappointment. The slightly dry chunks of lamb on injera with jalapeno and random pockets of exploding rosemary flavor came with oil-packed tomatoes on the side. We saw the same cough-syrup Tej, and a few more Ethiopian beers available.

Awash: The lamb tibs were good, but closer to a stew preparation than the grilled versions. We also got a chance to try the kitfo (raw ground beef) and a lamb organ dish that completely stole the show. The Addis Tej was available here. This spot is notable because the place was packed with Ethiopians watching TV and socializing - always a good sign.

Meskerem: The lamb tibs were sautéed and had a decent balance of butter and lamb flavor. Nothing to write home about, sadly. Bad Tej rears its ugly head again here, and the stool seating upstairs is downright uncomfortable.

Queen Makeda: Another place that was completely empty on a mid-week night at prime dinner hour, although the food here blew Almaz out of the water. Tibs were juicy chunks of lamb with onion and not-too-spicy slices of jalapeno, very nicely done. The kitfo was intensely spicy, and better than Awash's, and the vegetarian combo would make any veggie friend happy. The Tej was delicious, and a steal at $5.

If I had to pick a winner out of these six, Madjet comes out on top for tibs, with Queen Makeda close behind. Awash and Meskerem were both acceptable, but not worth seeking out. Almaz was the clear loser of the bunch, with Dukem also falling behind due to the overcooked meat.

What are your favorite places for tibs?