Chef Hiyaw Gebreyohannes has a goal: to make Ethiopian food more accessible.
“I want to make people feel like they can handle this cuisine,” he says. “That they feel comfortable ordering it.”
Having grown up in Toronto with parents from Ethiopia, “with one foot in both the East and the West,” as he puts it, he seems uniquely situated to do just that.
His first moves to bring Ethiopian food to the masses came in the form of Taste of Ethiopia, a line of microwavable meals available in Whole Foods and on Amazon Fresh that he launched while still a resident of New York City a few years prior.
Now a proud D.C. transplant, he’s taking his mission a step further with Gorsha, a new fast-casual eatery that opened in Union Market (1309 5th St NE) in mid-June. DCist had the opportunity to visit the shop and taste the menu.
“Ethiopian food is never looked at through a different lens,” Gebreyohannes says. “And I want to change that.”
Meaning “an act of friendship of love, offering a mouthful of food by hand,” Gorsha offers up familiar Ethiopian flavors with delicious and clever twists. From a menu made in the Chipotle style of mix-and-match, guests can order chicken cooked in berbere, raw yellowfin tuna prepared like Ethiopian kifto (a traditional dish of raw beef mixed with spiced butter), or lamb slow cooked with tumeric, ginger, and garlic thrown on a bed of basmati rice or stuffed generously into a sour injera wrap. Gebreyohannes calls those Ethiopian tacos.
From there comes the “vegetable” section, which includes stewed red lentils, creamy spinach and kale, and string beans with carrots. Then, there’s the cornucopia of toppings, from fermented cucumbers and pickled shallots to injera crisps and berbere daikon. And, last but not least, it’s time to get saucy, with a kick with fiery awaze hot sauce or mellowing the dish out with a dash of white honey sauce.
Gorsha’s little bowls, with one protein and two vegetables, will run you $11, big bowls, with two proteins and three vegetables, $13, and a set of three injera wraps $9.
While the pop-up is currently only set to run three months, Chef Gebreyohannes sees the eatery staying at Union Market for the long-term. In the short-term, he’ll keep serving up delicious and accessible Ethiopian food from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Gebreyohannes also plans to host a series of special chef collaborations in the coming months.
Gorsha is located inside Union Market at 1309 5th St. NE. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
