Walia: Tastes of Ethiopia

Story and photos by Patricia Grossman

Bordering an up-and-coming Takoma Park neighborhood, off of New Hampshire Avenue in a strip mall, is a small Ethiopian restaurant called "Walia."   As nondescript as it appears, you are encountering Ethiopian cuisine and hospitality at its finest.  

I arrived on a Saturday morning to meet my dining companion.   While I had experienced Ethiopian cuisine in several local establishments, my dining companion had not, so we decided to order a combination platter with a variety of dishes.  

As we were looking at the photos of dramatic Ethiopian landscapes, T.J., the manager, came by.   She made us both feel welcome, as did her other customers, most of them regulars, as they drifted in for lunch.  

The Walia Special came to our table consisting of Doro Wat (hard boiled eggs and chicken legs in a mildly spicy red sauce), Tibs Wat (cooked beef in a spicy red sauce), Alicha Fitfit (pieces of sautéd lamb and injera bread soaked in yellow curry sauce) and Fesolia with carrot (French fried potatoes, green beans and carrots).   To cut the spice, a small mound of fresh cheese, like crumbled farmer cheese, is served as well. For one person, this combination platter costs $14, for two $25, and for three $36.  

Ethiopian cuisine is meant to be shared.   A large piece of injera bread is placed upon a serving platter with mounds of food piled onto it.   Several pieces of rolled up injera bread is brought to your table as well.   You tear off a piece of this bread--thin like a pancake, soft and warm--and collect a bite-sized amount of food in it from the platter and pop it in your mouth.   Once you've eaten the mounds of food, tear pieces from the sauce drenched injera bread underneath and eat it -- more savory than if you were taking a piece of Italian bread and swiping it across the plate at the end of a meal! Vegetarians already know the magic of an Ethiopian menu and Walia's is not disappointing.   Cabbage, lentils, split peas, green beans, potatoes, carrots, collard greens and tomatoes are some of the staple vegetables used to prepare Ethiopian vegetable entrees.

Each dish averages $7,59 for a combination platter of five foods.

While the menu itself is small, after talking with Walia's regulars I know what keeps them coming back time and time again:   The Walia Special Godin Tibs ($11) and the Special Kitfo ($12).   Naturally, this is what I will request upon my next visit to this little gem of a restaurant.   Looking around, almost every table had the Special Kitfo -- a mound of   delicious Ethiopian steak tartar piled high onto a big green leaf. It is advertised as lean tender chopped beef seasoned with spiced butter and mitmita (Chili sauce) served with seasoned cheese and Kocho.   Only the adventurous and trusting will dare this one.   (Unpretentious is an understatement to describe this restaurant but clean it is, so the trust seems warranted.)  

Manager T. J. specializes in making Walia's diners feel like regulars.

Kocho, served as a starch alongside the Special Kitfo, is approximately the size of a deck of cards, slightly translucent with a sponge-like texture.   Made from a specific type of tree root, it's quite like rice.   Michael Mersha at the table next to ours let us both try a piece as he explained the Spanish influence behind it.

For those less daring, the Walia Special Godin Tibs is the way to go -- fresh lamb ribs mixed with marinated boneless lamb sautéd in Walia special seasonings.   I watched as this dish was brought sizzling to the table next to us.   I can't wait to go back to try it.

Not too long after I had my first experience at Walia I was talking to my favorite bank teller in Chevy Chase. We both love food.   He also happens to be Ethiopian.   When I mentioned the Walia restaurant he knew of it -- he's a regular there too!   And which dish did he not only mention but wrote down on a blank transaction receipt?   The Lamb Tibs.   Okay, I'm definitely going back.

The Walia Ethiopian Restaurant is located at 6846 New Hampshire Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912, 301-270-4545 or 301-270-7767.   Hours are Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-2 a.m.