Food Issue

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The aroma of sweet baked yams, pungent collard greens and barbecued lamb chops wafts through Oohhs & Aahhs as customers come in from out of the chilly D.C. air and into the cozy U Street restaurant.

For the penny-pinching shopper, supermarkets offer an alternative to the more expensive restaurant meal.  And for most residents of D.C., a large supermarket offering fresh produce is just blocks away.  In lower-income areas of the city, however, large supermarkets are much harder to find. Giant's Anacostia-location, which opened in December 2007, called attention to the lack of grocery options in Southeast.  

Seoul, South Korea, is known for its street food.  From early in the morning until very late at night, vendors sell everything from egg-and-cheese sandwiches to vegetable tempura at curb-side carts. 

When Tutu Belay moved from Louisiana to Washington, D.C., 16 years ago, she started a successful business, unified the local Ethiopian community and fell in love.

Not too shabby for a brand-new District resident.

Now, Belay has a new endeavor – a restaurant in the heart of little Ethiopia, a neighborhood on 9th and U streets in Northwest D.C.

Ingredients:

At first glance, the historic U Street corridor’s restaurant scene appears to be thriving. But the line that snakes around Ben’s Chili Bowl - a District landmark that has grown even more popular since Barack Obama visited last month - belies the tough times that many restaurants are facing, as customers cut back on spending in response to the continuing recession.
A line forms outside of historic Ben's Chili Bowl. Photo by Manuel Bewarder

A last-minute reservation turned into a solid six-course meal on Valentine's Day.