dine | REVIEW
TWICE THE SPICE With the openings of Chercher and Lucy, Bethesda has its first—and second—Ethiopian restaurants BY DAVID HAGEDORN | PHOTOS BY DEB LINDSEY
WHEN 2018 RANG IN, there were no Ethiopian restaurants in Bethesda; by March, there were two. Chercher restaurant, whose chef and owner is Alemayehu Abebe, opened on Bethesda Avenue in the former Suma space on Feb. 1. Barely six weeks later, Mekonnen Abraham and his wife, chef Seble Lemma, began welcoming diners at Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant, taking over the space on Cordell Avenue that housed Grapeseed restaurant for 17 years. (At press time, Delina Eritrean Urban Kitchen, which will serve Ethiopian and Eritrean food, was scheduled to open soon in the former Heckman’s Delicatessen space on Cordell Avenue.) Chercher and Lucy have a lot in common. Both are second locations whose first outposts opened in 2012—Chercher in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood and Lucy on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. (Abebe’s third Chercher is slated to open in Arlington in October.) Abraham’s and Abebe’s families were in the restaurant business in Ethiopia. Abebe hails from Chercher, a region in eastern Ethiopia, where, he says, the highest quality meat, fruit and vegetables come from. Abraham and Lemma come from Dilla, in southern Ethiopia. They named their restaurant after
the 3.2 million-year-old female hominid—dubbed Lucy by archeologists—whose fossilized skeletal remains were discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. Abebe and Abraham both took over what were essentially turnkey operations and made cosmetic changes. Chercher, which seats 67 inside and 30 outside, still sports its predecessor’s goldenrod-yellow tufted banquettes and modern black wooden side chairs. A backlit shadowbox wall display now shows off Ethiopian basketry and serving vessels. New decorative
lucy ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT 4865 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, 301-347-7999, lucyrestaurantmd.com FAVORITE DISHES: Vegan combination platter, girgiro (marinated beef or lamb cubes sautéed with jalapeños and onions), whole fried croaker with tomato salad, Gurage kitfo, baklava PRICES: Appetizers: $4 to $8; vegan platter: $18; entrées: $14 to $24; desserts: $6 LIBATIONS: Lucy’s offerings are extensive. Among the 18 cocktails (most are $12) are a classic
martini, a margarita and a Long Island iced tea. The Lucy Mule is finished with a splash of Ethiopian beer. A spirits list includes scotch/whiskey offerings. There are 20 bottled beers (five are Ethiopian) and eight on draft. The 50-bottle wine list has a few Ethiopian selections, including tej. Rodney Strong Chalk Hill chardonnay (California) goes for $44 ($13 a glass); Meiomi pinot noir (California) is $48 ($14 a glass).
Overall Rating:
B+
SERVICE: Attentive and eager to please
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