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Business & Tech

Hands on with Dessie Ethiopian Restaurant

Authentic Ethiopian fare and friendly faces await at this Wheaton restaurant.

 

Wheaton is one of the most diverse areas in all of Montgomery County, and its selection of restaurants is a testament to our town’s peoples, cultures and ethnicities. In just a few blocks, you can find Chinese, Japanese, Bolivian, American, Italian and if you look carefully, Ethiopian.

Located just a few steps from the bustling intersection of University Boulevard and Veirs Mill Road, can easily be mistaken for just another one of the area’s ubiquitous international markets.

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On the heels of the echoing tinkling bells on the door, visitors have a choice to make – head left to the store, or right to the bright and colorful dining room of Dessie’s restaurant.

After running a long string of gift shops, beer and wine stores and a vending company dealing in injera (traditional Ethiopian bread) in Washington DC, owner Lishan Demekristos decided to open her own food-centered business in Wheaton.

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“I moved to Silver Spring in 1989 and for years, saw people going out all the time to ethnic restaurants and places, but there was no Ethiopian food,” said Demekristos. “Wheaton is close to Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Silver Spring and Kensington and I thought this place would catch people's eyes.”

Dessie began as a store selling injera and spices (which it still does), but Lishan decided to take her mother’s traditional Ethiopian recipes and use the rest of the location’s space to open the restaurant.

Demekristos is very proud of the fact that all of her food is fresh and very healthy, based on lean meats, lots of vegetables and whole grains. While she offers two different versions of injera, one with mixed grains, the more popular version is primarily made with teff, an ancient grain high in fiber, iron, protein and calcium. Dessie’s injera is impossibly airy, having the expected bubbly texture, without being overly spongy.

Injera is key to eating Ethiopian. As there is no silverware on the table, the expectation is to tear off small pieces of the bread, and use it to pick up your choice of meats or vegetables from the plate.

Aside from the $3-$5.25 appetizers, prices are a bit higher than one may expect in a Wheaton restaurant, with entrees ranging from $10.99 to $13.99 for selections that will satisfy carnivores and vegetarians alike.

The kitfo was especially intriguing – with its tender pieces of minced meat sprinkled with spicy red pepper and butter seasoned with kosert. Spicy red lentils were also well seasoned, but for the faint of palate – make sure to have a glass of mango juice nearby to put out the fire!

Lamb was succulent and not overly seasoned, while the chicken was pleasant but not as remarkable as the rest of the selections. The vegetable offerings were interesting and tasty – cabbage combined with thin slices of carrot in a light sauce and tangy string beans with chucks of tender carrots.

Demekristos says that she is thankful to both God and the Wheaton customers who have kept her in business for more than six years now. “I just want people to know about Ethiopian food – that it is healthy, tastes good and everybody will like it.”

Dessie’s also hosts traditional Ethiopian bands and dancers on Saturday evenings, from 10:00 p.m. to midnight.

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