Category: African
Doing A Ghost Kitchen Right – DisBe Good DC, Ivy City Food Works, Washington DC
And of course the name was Disbe Good, not Desbe Good like the corpos passed down to me….so very typical for a desk jockey that can’t even seem to google anything right….. This crew with the owner, Phil, at the helm do an amazing Africa-inspired takeout plates with both proper, juicy, and tender suya, as…
Agelgil Ethiopian Bar & Restaurant, Washington DC
This was an old, old gig and from what I can remember it went very well. Agelgil Ethiopian Bar & Restaurant sits right there on Georgia Ave, not too far off of Longfellow Street, in this 2-block pocket that used to have quite a few Ethiopian spots and my very first one, Hiwot. Seems like…
Former Abi Ethiopian, now Shewa Ethiopian Restaurant, 1824 and 1826 Benning Rd NE, Washington DC
I’ve known this spot for years as they changed names, but their direction was always the same – standard fried food takeout with your standard burgers and cheesesteaks, as well as Ethiopian food given the good old owners being from there. I have shot them twice for corpos under Abi name, but double-checking the state…
Skyline Cafe-Ethiopian Cuisine, Falls Church VA
Another back-to-back-to-back Ethiopian spot in this little cut of South George Mason Drive in barely Falls Church VA. This one did not leave an impression like Nazret and Balagger did, but the food here is also pretty good, so you can always flip a 3-sided coin to decide which one to try out.
Balagger Ethiopian Restaurant & Bar, Falls Church VA
Balagger was a fantastic spot I got to shoot twice in that awkward cut of George Mason Drive that also house Nazret Ethiopian and a few other places. In fact I was supposed to shoot a new spot a few weeks ago until the owners bailed out, so there’s that. The second time we did…
Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant, Alexandria VA
Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant located in a little plaza right off of Van Dorn Street South was a fun shoot from back in the day and was perhaps one of the more Western feeling Ethiopian spots that I’ve ever been to. Owners, staff, and of course the food are on-point here as are the drinks and…
Reschedule Hell – Arat Kilo Market, Silver Spring MD
Of literally all the Ethiopian spots, all with friendly staff and owners by the way, this was one of the few that put me through reschedule hell and the day of operation I drove back to it after other gigs just to get it done once and for all! Nile Restaurant and Market was the…
Variety and Spices of Life – Spice Village, Herndon VA (Kallisto Steakhouse, Peri-Peri Original, Khyber Shinwari, Mandarin Halal Chinese)
Quite the mouthful of a post title, but Spice Village almost rivals the relatively new Asian food halls in the sheer variety of the food they offer here! Kallisto Steakhouse has grills and fries of shmeat; Peri-Peri Original adds some competition to Nando’s and Galito’s African grilled chicken; Khyber Shinwari is your good old Indian…
Galito’s Flame Grilled Chicken, Gaithersburg MD – Nando’s Competition
Last year, Galito’s was a very pleasant surprise for me because not only did I not expect a proper competitor to Nando’s Peri Peri to show up this soon, but for it to be right around my home base? Most excellent! So what’s this all about? Another charbroiled or rotisserie chicken? Not at all. Galito’s…
Agama Kitchen & Restaurant, Bladensburg MD
Agama Kitchen was a cozy little African spot in Bladensburg at the end of one of my days and I knew the overall area all too well. Solid selection of food, like my favorite jolloff rice, and a pickup of beverages for the rest of that weekend a couple doors down made for a day…
Akwaaba Lounge (1230 Restaurant), Washington DC
9th street above Mt. Vernon Square in DC used to house this absolute mess of an attempt at success that was called 1230 Restaurant and Akwaaba Lounge at some point as well. This was was among the record holders for consistent bails and reschedules and eventually went under. DC isn’t exactly an overall flavor town,…
Nando’s Peri-Peri, Washington DC – Spicy Unique Bird
We all know Nando’s and I occasionally ate there at various locations, so they definitely get my thumbs up of approval as far as semi-fast-food places go. The only honest thing that bites here are the prices, but at least it’s not McDonald’s operated excuse for Mexican food like Chipotle. Another thing to respect with…
Mr. M’s Restaurant and Catering, Randallstown MD
Smooth shoot at Mr. M’s with plenty of jolloff rice for me to ogle.
Nile Ethiopian Restaurant and Market, Washington DC
Nile was an absolute hilarity to shoot since they expected to just run customer orders through me and scheduling the shoot for a complete dead time, then refusing to cook for the shoot as is the proper procedure. I’ve had a few places like this, and always got paid the bonus for having my time…
Vera’s Kitchen, Manassas VA
Vera’s Kitchen was a neat fusion of healthier American fused with Ethiopian roots and was one of the first such places I’ve shot. This was also one of the many places I covered in downtown Manassas.