Zenebech Injera, 608 T Street NW, Washington, DC, 202-667-4700 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [evite | Yelp]
This restaurant with two tables is now the best Ethiopian place in Washington. It is better than Adams-Morgan, better than the 9th Street row. Especially if you don’t mind hearing them grind up meat in the nearby back room.
Every dish is excellent and the flavors are simply more real. Get the raw kitfo, and you do need to ask for it spicy otherwise they will notice your possibly pale face and dumb down the food accordingly.
Oddly this place is right next to Thai X-ing, which has only one table and is the best Asian restaurant in town. DC is finally developing the right mix of high rent and low rent districts to support such entrepreneurial ventures.
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TCEDG.com
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If this is your first visit, read these:
-- Welcome
-- General Remarks
-- Six Rules for Dining Out
- Tyler Cowen's home page
- Marginal Revolution
- The Complete TCED Guide (June 2019) (127-page PDF)
- Metro Trip Planner
This place is closed right now, I went there a week ago.
It’s re-opened now – I got takeout last week. They gave the interior a minor facelift, but it’s still basically just a takeout with a couple of tables. The kitfo is still superb, and since it’s that time of year, the tomato and jalapeno salad was an unexpected highlight.
Based on these recommendations, I went last week with a friend and tried various dishes, including the raw kifto. I did not like the consistency, and did not have much of it. He got very ill after eating it, and ended up missing a day and a half of work. I liked the other food, but would not order anything raw again.
Simply put, you can’t find better Ethiopian food, and you can’t find a better price. That’s a killer combination.
I go at least twice a month. It’s better for pick-up. Dining in isn’t good because there are only a couple tables and the door is constantly opening and closing with customers coming in to pick up orders. Pick up is the way to go. If you do dine-in, however, you’ll see at least 10 Ethiopian cab drivers drop by to pick up lunch or dinner. If that’s not the ultimate endorsement, I don’t know what is.
Lamb tibs, kitfo (fully cooked if you’re new to the cuisine), vegetable combo — it’s all delicious. A meat order plus a vegetable order can easily be split between 3 people, or 2 hungry people plus leftovers.
Also, pick up some berbere from the shelf to spice up your burgers or make your meal extra hot. One $5 tub will last you a year, even if you use it often.