Meskerem is my favorite of the Ethiopian restaurants that have sprung up in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington DC. There are three levels for dining at Meskerem. The basement has a more casual and beat-up atmosphere and regular tables, and it is here you'll end up if you show up after work with a dozen coworkers. The main level has linen and small clusters of chairs, though there are baskets for the most part for seating. The upstairs level is traditional Ethiopian dining, with baskets instead of tables and low chairs. I've eaten here with all my kids, so they can accomodate middle sized groups. You have to ask for traditional seating.
Food at Meskerem is very different from what you have on a regular basis. Most of the foods are basically thick stews, or sauteed chunks of meat, from the Watts, which are stews in a thick spicy sauce made from a spice mix called berbere to the milder Alitcha. Fitfits are similar to the Watts and tibs but with pieces of bread mixed in, and Tibbs are pieces of meat or shrimp sauteed in seasoned butter.
Vegetables get a delicious treatment at Meskerem, as the berbere and spiced butter are very suited to vegetables, Split Peas, Lentis, cabbage, carrots, string beens, collared beans, chick peas, all get either the Watt or Alitcha treatment or some other equally delicious treatment.
Meskerem also has kifto, a seasoned rate steak tartare. I have never had this.
The Mesobs, a combination of different dishes, both meat based and vegetarian, are a particular delight, giving you a chance to try all of these.
The spicing here is different enough to be a bit exotic, but recognizable, and particularly tasty.
The most unusual aspect of this restaurant, though, is the way you eat. Rather than giving you dishes and silverware, you are greeted with a warm wet washcloth, with which you clean off your hands. Then the food is served, poured onto a huge platter covered with a thin pancake made out of a grain called teff. This is a sourdough pancake with a bit of a bite, and it complements perfectly the sauces, particularly the spicy Watts. You also get a basket with more of this pancake. You tear off a piece of it, use it to wrap a morel of food and eat.
Meskerem is off 18th street just south of the intersection of Columbia Avenue. Nearest metro stations are DuPont Circle and Woodley Park Zoo on the Red line. Since the walk is all uphill from DuPont, I get off at Woodley Park/Zoo, and head over the bridge onto Columbia Avenue, then south on 18th. This is a bit of a walk, so you might consider a cab. Parking is abysmal here, though somewhat less so than downtown. I always return to the DuPont Circle metro, South (Downhill) on 18th to P Street turn right to DuPont Circle.
