Queen Makeda

[Busboy]

I've been eating Ethiopian almost as long as anyone in America, I'll wager, and my wife has been going at it even longer -- she was a regular at the Blue Nile, if anyone else remembers DCs first Ethiopian restaurant ever. I am no expert, but I can say this: the last few years have seen a tremendous elevation in the quality of the cooking. The nuance of the spicing, the variety of the preparations and authenticity of the restaurants is way up. And Queen Makeda -- named for Soloman's Queen of Sheba -- is the latest example, I've stumbled across. Is it better than contenders for the "Best of" title like Dukem and Etete? I can't say. Would it have been the best Ethiopian in the city five years ago? I think so.

Let me begin by saying that even in foreign countries where I don't speak the language, I rarely encounter a language barrier like I have here, one made even more impenetrable by the size of our group. Despite painstaking -- and painful -- discussions, the raw meat came out cooked, some dishes never appeared and, stuff we thought we'd been told they'd 86'd came out instead. Don't come expecting a seamless dining experience.

But really, we didn't care. It was great company, for one. And the service was gracious to the point that they left the restaurant to get us Ethiopian beer when we expressed disappointment with the Heineken. And the food...

The Doro Wat -- chicken stewed with beriberi -- was excellent, boasting an almost cinnamon-y base that made it vaguely reminiscent of good mole (though co-conspirator gfron1 was bummed that it wasn't served with the traditional hard-boiled egg. In this case it's clear what comes first). Ethiopian restaurants tend to cook the Kitfo -- spiced, raw ground beef with clarified butter and farmer's cheese -- and so it pays to explain to them that you want it raw, which we did in this case. But, to no avail. This was a bummer in that when the raw stuff finally arrived it was possibly the best I've had, but we were too full to polish it off.

Gomen, steamed greens, were fresh and refreshing in contrast to the more agressive stews, and the mild lamb stew (Yebeg Alicha) was, again, spiced with the delicate but elaborate hand. The tripe flavored with liver (sounds like a kid's worst nightmare, doesn't it?) was so good even my wife liked it. And almost everything tasted a little better with either the spicy red and green purees served as a condiment.

To finish, the owner/hostess/matriarch waved a pan of freshly roasted coffee beans under our nose. Sadly, not on a Monday night. Next time, though.

Comfortable room -- in fact much more organic feeling than some of the better known spots in the neighborhood.

Queen Makeda Ethiopian Restaurant

1917 9th St

Washington DC 20001

Phone (202) 232-5665

[divalasvegas]

Thanks Busboy/Charles. Like you, I've been eating and enjoying Ethiopian food in this area for many years as well and appreciate your very detailed description of your meal. Just a couple of things. You didn't mention the injera (bread). I find that stuff be almost addictive and gets better and better as the meal progresses. Did you like their version? Also, what did you think of the range of items offered on the menu? I've noticed over the last few years that most of the Ethiopian restaurants have the same menus not unlike many Chinese restaurants in our areas. Were there items you'd never seen on other menus?

Thanks.

[monavano]

Great review Charles. Everything sounded delicious. They sound like great hosts.

[hjshorter]

IMO their injera was very very good with a nice tang. The menu isn't particularly lengthy but they have a list of daily specials that all looked intriguing (the aforementioned tripe with liver was a special). I am going to deviate from Busboy and the Mrs. and say that I have had better kitfo, but Queen Makeda's version was respectable if not transcendant.

The service was completely overwhelmed by the size of our party. It would be nice to go with a smaller group next time (not that there was anything wrong with the company ) and see if it improves.

(ETA: punc-tu-a-tion)

Edited August 31, 2007 by hjshorter (log)

[gfron1]

I won't take the "go with a smaller group" comment personally and was very happy with how the service accomodated our last minute inundation. I was also pleased with the more traditional seats and tables which are increasingly being usurped by standard restaurant tables in other Ethiopian restaurants.

Joking aside, a smaller group would have been able to navigate the language, better than we did, by menu finger pointing, but it wasn't happening on this night.

My only criticism on the food was with the spiced tea. I don't think I've ever had an Ethiopian tea that I didn't like. The one I had at this dinner was too watered down in my iced version...which was my mistake, although I always get the iced version no matter what time of year. Tea aside, this was a wonderful meal, and I agree - great company.