Anye S.
Yelp
I don't understand why I only just now found out about this place, it's very close to where I live and I am frequently searching Yelp for new places to eat. Though it's close to Rte 29 it's on a stretch of road that you don't go down unless you have a reason to, so hadn't ever driven by, which is a shame because it's a great find.
Hubby and I came for lunch and due to a breakfast mishap I wasn't as hungry as I could have been, but we ordered our standard "trying a new Ethiopian place" fare of a veggie combo and a meat - in this case, the beef awaze tibs. They have a combo for two of these items for about $30 which works out to be quite convenient - the veggies are divided so each person has their own little serving of each veggie. Gone is the conflict of "you ate more than half of my misir wot!" - you each get your own. There's a generous amount of injera included (and they offered more, though we didn't need more). We took over half of it home since as I mentioned I was less hungry than usual.
They have about 6-8 tables inside, it's not crowded at all. Order at the counter, pay afterwards. They have a shelf with a few Ethiopian items for sale but not as much as I was expecting with the name market in the name. I was hoping they would have niter kibe to purchase but I didn't see a goods fridge as part of the market area so I didn't actually ask about it. (I like to make doro wot at home, need the amazing spiced ghee to do it but the only place I know I can buy it is out in Wheaton...). Ok, back to the food here:
Overall, it was very good. The flavor profile of the awaze tibs was right on point, a good amount of spice without being too much (for us... probably still way too spicy for your average MD taste buds) - my only complaint is that the beef was very tough and hard to chew. I think it needed either to be tenderized more, or a different cut of beef used. The flavors were there, but honestly I'd try this with chicken instead of the beef next time. They also offer it with lamb, which might also work better. Overall, I would say these were about in the middle for spice level across all the Ethiopian places in the area. If you try this and find you want significantly less spicy, try Bete (or Beteseb if you want really bland, but I don't recommend it). If you want significantly more spicy, go for Elilta or Meleket. Us, we're not super picky as long as it's not bland but we like the spice.
The veggie combo part came with shiro (chick-pea puree), misir wot (curried lentils), yellow split peas (I forgot the Ethiopian name for these), a pico like tomato/onion/jalapeno salad, beets, and gomen (greens). I usually am not a big fan of the yellow split peas, and was pretty neutral on them as normal. Everything else was very good though. My husband really liked their gomen in particular - he kept raving about how it was probably the best Ethiopian greens he's had. (I think they have a little garlic in them that kicks it up a notch.). I always love beets, these were no exception. The other items were all very good as well. No complaints about any of it.
Hubby also ordered a hot tea, it was quite nice, lots of cinnamon I believe. If I hadn't already had a bunch of coffee this morning I might have tried a coffee as they serve a variety of those.
I see that they offer door dash but they're only a couple miles from my place so a great option to order takeout and just go pick it up, without letting door dash get a cut of their profits.
The ladies running the place were very nice, and so between that and the great food, we'll definitely be back.
I think if the beef hadn't been so tough, I would have given them a five star rating. Rating may go up after future visits if we try the chicken and it's amazing.
