Washington's Little Ethiopia

In addition to customary Ethiopian dishes, Axum, an unpretentious cafe across the street from Queen Makeda, is noted for its fried chicken cutlet served with a side of pasta. "It shows our Italian influence, and it's light," says owner Gebre Kahassai. (Italy twice invaded and occupied Ethiopia, in 1895 and 1935.) "Say you're driving a cab all day; injera can be pretty heavy," he says.

But the best-known Ethiopian restaurant in the neighborhood is the six-year-old Dukem. Owner Tefera Zewdie says that when he opened, the majority of his customers were from back home. "So much has changed in the last year and a half," says Zewdie, who has an adjoining carryout. On weekend nights in Dukem's outdoor area, there's a barbecue where Ethiopian-spiced New York strip steaks are grilled. "Now, I have far more white and African American customers," Zewdie says.

His sister, Senedu, opened Sodere restaurant last May with two of her other brothers, Mekonen and Mesefen. It's a few doors down from Etete. She says there is a challenge filling seats on weeknights with so many other restaurants in the area.

"Basically, with the food, all Ethiopian restaurants are the same," says Senedu Zewdie. "To be different, you have to have a coffee service and entertainment. That's what everybody is doing to attract more people." And all the enclave's restaurant owners agree that the best way to do so is by formally naming the neighborhood for their homeland.

The D.C. Council is considering a proposal by the Ethiopian community to designate and honor the area with a name posted on signs, according to Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham (D). More than 1,700 people have signed a petition circulated by a group headed by real estate agent Tamrat G. Medhin, chairman of the Ethiopian-American Constituency Foundation.

Some of the suggested names are Ethio City, Little Addis Ababa and Selassie Village. But the top pick is Little Ethiopia.

No decision has been made. But Graham says he is "deeply supportive of this effort, and we could decide in a matter of weeks."

"It would mean so much to us. To be recognized is a big plus, " says Senedu Zewdie. "We will show the signs to our children and our grandchildren and say, this is our home and Ethiopia is our identity."