The Infatuation

Regional Dining Discussions DC, Mid-Atlantic
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The Infatuation, which has for some time now been a very active pro-am-ish site discussing NYC restaurants, seems to be ramping up its DC efforts. For example, I just got an email titled “The 9 Best Ethiopian Restaurants in DC,” which linked to this article.

But the article is super-annoying, because it is literally only about Ethiopian restaurants in the District of Columbia proper. Who in the world cares what the “best” restaurants are within this artificial political boundary, when most (not all) of the best DMV Ethiopian restaurants are in Maryland (especially Silver Spring) and northern Virginia?

It is the dumbest kind of snobbery imaginable.

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I believe they’re everywhere geographically, but at least on Twitter, all sponsored ads. Do they qualify as a legitimate source?
I vote no.

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So, staying true to the brand, then.

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Listicles-R-Us

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Habesha Market is excellent, bit it’s weird that the article only talks about it as a carry-out spot. They have dine-in.

I have never been interested in Dukem or the relatively prim Ethiopic.

My favorite is Eyo in the Skyline area of Falls Church, VA. I haven’t been to any spots in Maryland.

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It’s hard for me to draw a lot of distinctions among the good Ethiopian restaurants, but I’d say my favorites are Dama on Columbia Pike in Arlington, Meaza on Columbia Pike in Falls Church (with a really good market), and Lucy in Silver Spring.

I’ve never actually eaten at Eyo, but their Ethiopian market is good. I believe that’s where Tim Carman and Anthony Bourdain went when he visited DC, isn’t it? I was always amused that Bourdain just took a big bite of a chunk of raw steak, which is not how it’s supposed to be eaten.

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I saw that episode. I felt so sorry for Bourdain that he followed the completely awful advice from Carman. What a waste!

They went to Abay Market (the name has changed now, I think) which had a very limited/no menu, mostly they served the raw meat but they also offered one or two dishes (depending on the day) in case someone wants to get something else. The other dishes I tried were terrible. And the specially aged raw meat (the fat looks completely yellow) was like eating rubber.

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