Tigi's Ethiopian on Route 40 Opens with Positive Reviews

In April, Tigi's Ethiopian Restaurant and Market quietly opened in the small shopping center behind the Dunkin' Donuts on Route 40. Since then, it has already gained some traction with positive reviews of its traditional Ethiopian cuisine.

"We aren't experts in Ethiopian cuisine, but we loved our dinner," wrote local food blogger HowChow, who ate at the restaurant earlier this month.

On Yelp, the new restaurant has 4.5 stars after five reviews.

"The food is spectacular," wrote one reviewer, "I eat out a lot, and I haven't had a better or more interesting meal locally in a very long time." 

The owner of restaurant, Bellete Tessema, said he and his wife, who are of Ethiopian descent, love to cook food and turned that passion into a catering business.

"The reviews of our service were so encouraging that it made us think of implementing our plan [to open a restaurant]," said Tessema, in an email. "And here we are serving the community already."

The inside of the market and restaurant is small, it appears to seat about 25 people. On the side of one wall is Ethiopian and Eritrean ingredients, making up the market portion of the space.

Tessema said he and his wife live in Catonsville, but decided to open the restaurant in Howard County because the county "is a culturally diverse area where there are lots of restaurants and people in the area are known to try different cultural foods."

Tessema described Ethiopian food as mostly breads, grains and spices with a mix of vegetable and non-vegetable stews (known as Wot) that are eaten with a sponge-like flatbread resembling crepes that's called Injera, which serves as both the plate and the utensils.

To the eat the food, one simply rips off a piece of the Inejera and then uses it to scoop up the stews or meats.

"Ethiopian food is eaten by hand and Gursha is an experience where people express their affection to one another at a dining table," said Tessema.

For people not familiar with Ethiopian cuisine, Tessema suggested trying Tibs (pieces of lamb, beef or chicken) or Michet Abish (a ground beef stew).

HowChow recommended the sampler platter, which offers lentils, some vegetables and meats, if you want them.

Tigi's Ethiopian

Website - http://tigisethiopianrestaurant.webs.com/

Address - 8459 Baltimore National Pike (Route 40) Ellicott City

Phone - 410-750-1500

Have you tried Tigi's, what did you think?