Washington's Little Ethiopia

Last November, brothers Yared and Henock Tesfaye surprised their mother with a gift -- her own restaurant. They gave it her nickname: "Etete. " It's at Ninth and U streets NW, in the Shaw section of Washington, an area with a growing ethnic identity. Some folks call it Little Ethiopia.

"This neighborhood is our place, a place we can be proud of," says Yared Tesfaye, who helps out in the dining room when not working his other two jobs, as real estate agent and parking attendant.

The brothers, who arrived from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 1994, chose modern decor for their mother's restaurant because "we want to bring a lot of people, not just Ethiopians, but tourists to this block," says Yared Tesfaye, 25. Their mother, Tiwaltenigus "Etete" Shenegelegn, has cooked for 15 years at Ethiopian restaurants in D.C.

The Washington region, with its 200,000 people of Ethiopian descent, has the largest Ethiopian population outside of the country itself, according to an unofficial estimate by the embassy. With the addition of Etete, which specializes in vegetarian meals, 10 Ethiopian restaurants now are clustered at U Street east of 13th and in the 1900 block of Ninth Street. Each has its distinct ambiance and fans.

The new enclave has twice as many Ethiopian restaurants as Adams Morgan, where Ethiopian entrepreneurs began opening food businesses in the late 1970s. The exotic and inexpensive cuisine attracts not only fellow countrymen but especially students and tourists. Meals are a communal, social activity, and there is no need for a knife and fork. Ethiopian is all about finger food.

Diners gather around a single, circular platter covered with a soft, 16-inch pancake or bread called injera . Spicy stews, seasoned vegetables and pureed legumes are artfully placed around the pancake. Additional injera are served alongside. That's when it's time to tear a section of the bread and use it to gather a mouthful from the assorted offerings. When the underlying pancake, soaked with sauce, is consumed, the meal is considered complete.

High rents in Adams Morgan have motivated restaurateurs to locate in a more reasonably priced but quickly redeveloping area. Major changes have occurred around Ninth and U streets in the past 18 months.

"We bought abandoned buildings, rebuilt them and cleaned this area up to make it what it is," says Belay Sahlemariam, co-owner of U Turn, an attractive corner bar that opened in October. One wall is covered with vintage newspapers from back home. Up a flight of steep stairs is a good-size restaurant with a stage for entertainment. U Turn is one block from the U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metro station.

Washington Post