Shagga
6040 Baltimore Ave.
Hyattsville, MD
240-296-3030
Neighborhood: Hyattsville
Cuisines: Ethiopian, Breakfast
Opening Hours:
Open daily 11 to 10.
Price Range: Inexpensive
Dress: Informal
Noise Level: Chatty
Reservations: Not Needed
Website: http://
Best Dishes:
Sambusas (turnovers filled with chicken, beef, or lentils); doro wat (braised chicken and hard-boiled egg in a peppery sauce); kitfo (we like the raw beef very lightly cooked and sided with farmer’s cheese and collards); firfir (a casserole of injera and
Special Features: Kid Friendly
Why go: Twenty minutes from Little Ethiopia, this storefront is one of the area’s best outposts of Ethiopian cooking, from spice-laden wats to peppery stir-fries to vivid veggie stews. Owners Kelem and Adamu Lemu also make one of the richest, mellowest cups of coffee around.
What to get: Sambusas, crispy three-cornered pastries filled with either ground, spiced chicken or spiced lentils; doro wat, a stewed chicken leg and hard-boiled egg in a robust red-pepper stew; Shagga special kitfo, an Ethiopian beef tartare (order it lightly cooked so the meat arrives just past medium-rare but not quite raw); the beef-and-injera stew called firfir; vegetarian platter, including the creamy, yellow split-pea stew kik alicha and gingered cubed beets.
Best for: A midafternoon pick-me-up of coffee and sambusa; a convivial meal.
Insider tip: An off-menu item, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and chilies, makes a satisfying breakfast or lunch. The bread called injera is superior to most, lighter and less inclined to weigh you down.
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