North Four Corners News ♦ April 2024

Local Eateries

Have You Tried the Eritrean Food at Elilta?

By Jennifer Badgley

There is no shortage of delicious East African cuisine in Silver Spring, but it is certainly nice to have our own neighborhood go-to spot for Ethiopian and Eritrean dining.  Whether you are a novice or a connoisseur, if you haven’t yet tried Elilta Restaurant, you are missing out on a real North Four Corners gem.

Owner and chef Almaz Abadi [pictured] always wanted to open a restaurant and in 2019 her dream came true when she and her husband Fitsum launched Elilta Restaurant.  Abadi credits local residents for getting through the pandemic.  Abadi says friends and neighbors’ pick-up orders kept the business afloat when Elilta was closed to in-house dining.  It wasn’t just customer support.  “Love”is the word Abadi uses to express what she felt every time an order was placed during the COVID shutdown.  Abadi says she puts the love she receives back into the dishes she serves.

Despite the challenges and financial strain of launching a new restaurant pre-COVID, Abadi has, indeed, baked strengthening the community into her business plan.  She does “as much as she can.”  Things like advertising locally and hosting a local PTA dine-out.  For Abadi, any talk of the future of Elilta is about growing the business in ways that bring people together.

Upon entering Elilta Restaurant, you will be welcomed into a dining space with white tablecloths and chair covers with colorful appliqués.  Because carry-out is such a popular choice for Elilta Restaurant customers, there is a walk-up counter that backs to the exposed kitchen so people can easily come and go.  There is a refrigerator with a selection of sodas for quick pick-up.  Recently, Elilta added beer and wine — including honey wine — to its beverage options.  You will now find a variety of foreign and domestic chilled bottled brews at the counter.

The open kitchen at Elilta is important to Abadi as it blurs the line between creation and consumption and honors the tradition of her Eritrean roots where cooking is not just the labor of eating.  It is one part of a shared experience.  The food here is excellent.

Elilta is a great place to share a hearty breakfast, midday meal, or a family weeknight dinner.  It is also a good take-out option, whether you are grabbing a handmade samosa for a late breakfast or picking up dinner on the way home from work.  Abadi and her staff prepare each dish with the attention one would give to preparing a celebratory meal with friends and never fail to provide a warm welcome.  Elilta, meaning “joy”or “celebration,”is an apt name for the eatery.

There are menu options for omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans (if you are sensitive to gluten, make sure to ask for gluten-free injera).  Vegetables are purchased fresh and dishes are made from scratch every day, not unlike how Abadi makes food at home.  Most Ethiopian and Eritrean food is served on injera, a spongy flatbread made with teff flour.  At Elilta, your meal will be served on injera.  You scoop up vegetable and meat stews wrapped in injera with your hand.  No utensils needed!

Eritrea was occupied by Italy in the late 19th Century, and you will still find Italy’s influence everywhere in Ethiopia’s neighbor to the north.  Abadi brought the fusion of the flavors unique to Eritrea to Elilta’s menu where you will find spaghetti served in a stewed tomato sauce.  Tomatoes are integral to Eritrean cooking.  With tomatoes, Abadi adds a touch of sweetness and acidity that very subtly lessens the heat of berbere, the spice blend used in most Ethiopian and Eritrean dishes.  Berbere is a blend of many vibrant spices that might include toasted chili peppers, fenugreek, cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon.  Abadi’s dishes are savory and spicy, but do not have quite as much heat as you might get at a strictly Ethiopian restaurant.

The offerings at Elilta include dishes typical of Ethiopian and Eritrean menus.  You can order a combination off the menu as well as order select portions of your favorite wot, the vegetable or meat stew that is served atop injera.  You won’t be disappointed in the tender beef cubes of Elilta’s tibs.  The lentil dishes are consistently well-textured and full of flavor.  Aromatic vegetable wots hit the spot — not too greasy or too dry.  For the more adventurous, kitfo — raw ground beef infused with a clarified spiced butter called kibe and served with a hot chili-based spice blend called mitmita — will not disappoint.

Almaz and Fitsum have lived in the area for 21 years, moving from Takoma Park to Silver Spring 10 years ago.  A proud mom of an adult daughter who lives locally, and now a grandma, Abadi’s favorite dishes to make include doro wat, a spicy stew of chicken and egg that is the signature dish of Eritrea and Ethiopia.  Abadi says she is living her dream and each customer that she cooks for matters to her and “brings joy and blesses her.”  Finish your meal with a cup of traditional coffee or tea to soak in the love of community Abadi brings to Elilta Restaurant.

Elilta Restaurant is located at 10118 Colesville Road, across from Woodmoor.  Meal prices generally range between $13 and $20.  Parking is available at the shared lot on Sutherland Rd. between Timberwood Ave. and University Blvd.  Attire is casual.  Reservations are accepted.  Elilta is open from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily (7 p.m. Sunday) and is closed on Tuesdays.  Abadi doesn’t have the resources to add accessibility tools but she and her staff do their best to accommodate people with varying needs and disabilities by doing things like opening and holding the door, arranging tables, and reading the menu.

[Jennifer Badgley lives with her husband and daughter on Mountain Quail Rd.]   ■