Work Travels made Fun
A couple of sites along the way. . .
This past week I attended a conference in Washington DC and
had come to terms that most of the trip would be spent in lectures and
workshops in a hotel. I was pleasantly surprised that the conference was set up
in such a way that there was ample opportunity to also see some of the sites in
the area, as well as time to experience some of the local restaurants.
Thanks to a friend, who is a real foodie, who provided me with
recommendations for what we should try. Sometimes, when you share a blog you
let others know how passionate you are about food. This friend was interested in
the OWL and had read my review which lead to a conversation about his upcoming
trip to NYC, and my plans in DC. As he had recently been in DC earlier this
year, he was able to provide me with a list, as well as some detailed
impressions of his experiences, which guided me in what to pick with limited
time.
Our first real stop, as a group was Chercher, an Ethiopian
restaurant that was about six blocks from my hotel but across the street from
where my friend was staying. Washington DC apparently has a large Ethiopian
community, and many restaurants, as one of the people in my group has actually
dined by herself at another Ethiopian restaurant the night before. Additionally
this restaurant was next to another Ethiopian restaurant located on the corner.
I had been warned that we would be traveling to a basement
that was more of a café than a restaurant but upon arriving, we noticed you had
the option to go down, or up, and we chose up. It seems that maybe this was a
recent addition to the space as the website boasts about the new bar, complete
with liquor? In any event, we went early and were able to get a seat right
away.
The menu has many options but we decided to order the
vegetarian deluxe platter, with ten of the eleven items listed in the
vegetarian portion of the menu. We also added the two meat specials of Kifto
and Beef Tips. The prices here are extremely reasonable. The platters are one
fixed price, and served the four of us generously. The kifto was a puree of
finely chopped sirloin that was almost a chili without beans, with lot of spicy
chili powder, served with homemade cheese and sauces. The beef tips were reminiscent
of fajita style beef, with jalapenos and onions.
While the meats were good, the vegetables were what really
shined. The Fosolia Be Carote featured fried green beans and carrots that were
flavored with tomato, garlic, ginger and peppers and was commented on by our
entire group. The Qey Sir was cooked beets that had been diced and were
naturally sweet with a bit of savory flavor, and they were also quite good. We
also especially liked the two different lentil varieties served, along with the
yellow peas. The salad was a little disappointing, as it seemed to be like any
run of the mill salad, but there was plenty to eat so we just moved around it.
All of the items were placed on one platter, lined with the
special Ethiopian bread, called Injera. This is similar to the Blue Nile
located in Ferndale, Michigan so this wasn’t a surprise to some of our group
who are veteran Ethiopian diners. However, this bread was darker than we were
used to, but just as delicious. It should be noted that eating with your hands
can be fun! Here there were chairs to sit close to the table, rather than the
stools we were used to, as well as the basket table locally.
We also ordered an appetizer of Samboosas, which were
similar to Samosas from Indian restaurant visits. The dough surrounding the
spicy lentils was flaky, like a phyllo, and there was a substantial amount of
filling. I would be fine with being a vegetarian if I always had such hearty delicious
options to eat.
To me, the sign of a good restaurant is to see diners
visiting that I assume are also from the same region of the world as the food.
While it’s an assumption, I think that many of those around us were of
Ethiopian descent and the table next to us received a platter that was definitely
not on the menu. When we asked what it was, they rambled off some names of
dishes I had not heard of before and explained that they were made of raw meat.
They offered to share but I have to admit I was a little hesitant to try them
with already having a full stomach of delicious food.
This is a great place. I would definitely visit again on another
trip to DC. Warm wait staff, hearty portions, and reasonable prices.
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