thrillist

It's always interesting when a known entity pops up in a new setting, like when Michael Jordan decided to play baseball and made such an impact, we're still talking about him today. For Ethiopian chow popping up into previously deficient H street, check out Ethiopic.

Just-opened Ethiopic's run by a married couple of former consultants who left the corporate grind to bring Ethiopian cuisine to the one corner of DC missing it; the space is a bright, uncluttered 40+ seater, decorated with wall-hanging sculptures and squared columns inscribed with the Ethiopian alphabet, which has 231 characters, and thus makes for a ridiculously hearty soup. The menu's divvied up by animal (or lack thereof): chicken like spicy Doro Key Wot w/ hard-boiled egg; lamb like red onions/tomato rosemary Signature Tibs; beef including cubed, spicy berbere sauce'd Awaze Tibs, and butter sauce'd tartar Signature Kitfo; and meatlessness like onion herb sauce/yellow split pea Kik Aletcha, which you would totally do if that pervy old bastard was looking at your girl. They've got some standard vinos/brews, but the real liquid authenticity's in the form of Ethiopian wines like Axumite, Gouder, and Honey Wine (a commercial imitation of "tej", or home-brewed African vino), plus similarly regional brews like St. George, Harrar, owner-favorite Castle, and Meta, which is not so much really a beer itself, but more about other beers.

For the adventurous or cripplingly indecisive, they've also got samplers like a beef & chicken wot plate with Minchet Abish Key Wot, Minchet Abish Aletcha Wot, Doro Key Wot, and Doro Aletcha Wot, but not the Michael Jordan Special, aka, the Wot the Hell Were You Thinking?

Add this to My Thrillist

Wot's a Kitfo? For kitting, silly! Make your own semi-intelligible puns with dishes on their menu, here.