Dukem

My first visit to the U street area was to go see the Wallflowers at the 9:30 club. I was completely unaware of the area and instead of wandering upon the U Street corridor for a quick bite I found myself in Little Ethiopia. Drawing upon some NYC knowledge I figured that the best and cheapest food would be served at the shop that had all cabs parked outside on the street. I was correct. As my friend and I wandered into the little white walled restaurant all heads turned, for we were the only white non-Ethiopians in there. But instead of facing hostility, the man behind the counter was quick to give us about ten pounds of food for under ten dollars, a pretty good value considering the amount of lamb and beef in the dish. On the way out I looked for the restaurant’s name but was met with a sign simply stating "Ethiopian Food".

Fast forward a few months later I had a craving for Ethiopian and decided to drag a fellow hall-mate up to U Street to kick off this project. Unable to retrace my steps to my original discovery I relied on word of mouth to find Dukem. Dukem is an Ethiopian restaurant of a kind I have not seen before. I was used to quaint little eateries decorated in traditional tables, chairs and wall art; Dukem is the opposite. The restaurant features a full modern bar in the center of the room, with a dance floor to the right and tables scattered all over. The room is well lit with carved arches filled with neon blue lights illuminating the dark wood tables and wooden bar. The staff is what gives this place character, most of the wait staff are waitresses that speak little English and serve to chide you for not eating enough of your dinner.

Did I mention that the portions are huge? This is straight up traditional Ethiopian food, and you should bring at least three people to try a combo platter. Each platter comes with a giant round of injera, a spongy pancake that serves as a plate for a variety of different vegetable and meat African curries. Just because Dukem strays from its traditional décor does not mean that it skimps on flavor. My favorite part of the platter is called minchet abash a mild paste-like stew of ground beef in a ginger and garlic sauce. Other toppings include lamb wot, a spicy lamb stew; doro wot, a spicy chicken and red pepper stew; tibs, lamb fried with onion, rosemary and jalapeno, and gored gored tibs, beef sautéed with onion and jalapeno in a butter sauce. It’s all delicious and a thirty dollar platter easily stuffs at least three people.

Dukem is an ethnic restaurant designed to meet the standards of both an Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian crowd. The décor is fancy enough for a fun date night and the food traditional enough for a real Ethiopian crowd. Dukem is what happens when its immigrant owners move out of Little Ethiopia and create a restaurant meant to fit in with the diverse population of U Street. It works.

This is the place to bring a crowd of friends for a few hours of fun, filling and cheap Ethiopian cuisine!