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Little Ethiopia's interior
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Some people might argue that District residents are sufficiently acquainted with Ethiopian culture. Yeshimebet Belay isn’t one of them.
“There aren’t enough Ethiopian restaurants in this area,” asserted Belay. “We need even more. It’s about creating a new adventure – and it’s good to open a new business here and clean the [neighborhood].”
Last month, Belay and her husband, Yehunie, celebrated the opening of their new restaurant, Little Ethiopia. It’s located on a burgeoning block on Ninth Street, just south of U Street, that’s unofficially known by the same name.
The menu largely consists of traditional, flavorful Ethiopian stews that are probably familiar to anyone who’s sampled the cuisine in the past. The vegetarian meal features yekik alicha (split peas), misir wot (lentils), collards and cabbage. An unusual addition is shiro, a paste of chickpea flour cooked with onions and spices.
Lamb, beef and chicken are offered, and for a special occasion, visitors might try doro wot, described by Belay as Ethiopia’s national dish. While a single serving consists of a piece of chicken and an egg in spicy sauce, the cooks – given sufficient preparation time – will cut a whole chicken into its respective 12 pieces, stew them in sauce, and serve them with 12 hardboiled eggs.
All of the meals, of course, are served on and with injera, flat wheels of spongy bread that soak up the aromatic sauces.
But the restaurant isn’t simply about exposing Washingtonians to the delights of Ethiopian food. It’s also a chance to highlight the music of their homeland: Yehunie Belay is a professional singer and performs at the restaurant on Friday and Saturday nights. In an effort to provide a continuous cultural experience, the restaurant’s décor evokes Ethiopia’s roots, featuring thatched roofs that elicit the atmosphere of a cottage, traditional furniture, and paintings on animal hides that hang on the walls.
In essence, the Belays are continuing the work they’ve been pursuing for the past 15 years: creating a bridge between Ethiopians and Americans. The couple publishes the Ethiopian Yellow Pages, now in its 16th year and almost 1,000 pages thick, advertising American businesses to an Ethiopian audience.
It doesn’t hurt that Yeshimebet Belay is a dyed-in-the-wool entrepreneur. “My husband says, ‘This is the woman who never sleeps,’” she remarked with a laugh before outlining her latest plans: putting on an expo to present in-the-flesh businesses to potential customers, as well as continuing to produce a newspaper supplement to the Yellow Pages. Belay said she gets her ideas for new businesses by looking for needs in the community that she could potentially fill.
“Coming here was an adventure for me,” she said. Belay has been in this country for 25 years, ever since arriving in Baton Rouge to study at the University of Louisiana. Her father was a government official in Ethiopia, “but this is always what I liked to do,” commented Belay about her interest in business. “I love people, I love working with others.” Her latest role as a Washington restaurateur should present ample opportunities to get to know a wide swath of new folks. |
