Located in Silver Spring, this adorable Ethiopian restaurant serves some of the best Ethiopian food in the Washington D.C. area. Opened a few years ago by a husband and wife team, Birtukan and Belete, the restaurant was aptly named Abol, meaning original or authentic. Once you dine there, you will find that their food certainly lives up to the name.
Start your meal with an order of Sambossa, crispy little fried triangular pastries filled with spicy lentils. So crunchy, so addictive. Make sure to get two orders!
Follow the Sambossa with one of the combination platters. Combination #1 is especially fabulous with Split Lentil Sauce, split lentils cooked in a spicy berbere sauce, which is a heady sauce made from chili peppers, garlic, ginger, basil and fenugreek. Other items included in the combination platter include Collard Greens cooked with green peppers, onions and garlic; crunchy Cabbage sautéed with ginger; nutty, delicious Oven Baked Chickpeas; perfect Yellow Lentils that are so delightfully creamy, its hard not to want to eat them every day. Sweet Beets also come as a part of the combination, as well as String Beans and Carrots cooked with vegetable oil, tomato, garlic, ginger and green peppers, and a fresh, Tomato Fitfit, a refreshing salad made with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, lemon juice, and mitmitra, a ground seasoning made with African birds eye chili peppers, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, and ginger. Mop up all of these wonderful items with Injera, the soft and mild Ethiopian bread that is the perfect accompaniment to each dish. Without it, the Beets are too sweet and the Split Lentil Sauce is too spicy…but wrapped up in the Injera the flavors become simply sublime. A refreshing beer or glass of honey will make your food taste even better.
Have any questions? Don’t worry the servers are kind, friendly, and welcoming, always making sure you are having an enjoyable and tasty meal.
Next time you are in Silver Spring be sure to stop by!
Abol Ethiopian Cuisine, 8626 Colesville Road Silver Spring Maryland 20910, 301-650-0061
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