Photos: Do it (top); dont do it (bottom). Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.
REVIEW — Here’s the good news about that house-turned-restaurant on Roeder Road, the one tucked behind the county’s liquor depot: The cakes are amazing! Here’s the bad news: One must endure mediocre Ethiopian food before getting to dessert.
That’s just how things roll at Dama Cafe — weak, even bad wots washed down with an orgasmic zuppa inglese chaser. The dichotomy makes it downtown Silver Spring’s worst Ethiopian restaurant, and the best coffee house in the county.
First, the entrees. The cafe’s vegetarian combo ($12 at lunch, right) is a bipolar plate of sauteed cabbage and collard greens, various red and yellow stews, and fit fit (more on that later). The cabbage’s mustard-yellow tinge might lead one to expect a spicy kick, but it’s pleasantly sweet and slightly buttery. The collards are, well, collards: a little bitter, a little tough.
The stews are savory and flavorful where the spices are concerned, but their textures are a disaster. The yellow split-pea stew is way mealy, while a celery-based red stew is runny and overwhelmed with that cruciferous taste. Another red stew contains dry chick-pea patties that are hard, woody and dry, like particle board. Seriously.
And then there’s the fit fit (sometimes fir fir), a mixture of leftover sourdough injera crepes, small bits of tomato, and diced jalapeno pepper. Dama’s offering has a bright, clean and slightly tart taste (Penguin graphic artist Brian Hefele attributes it to sumac) that cleans the palette before dessert. It’s interesting and surprisingly not heavy, despite the carbs.
The rest of the cafe’s menu dedicates itself to meat, primarily boneless lamb cubes seasoned with this, that and the other thing. The awaze tibs ($12 at lunch) is a pile of chewy, sometimes tough bits of lamb sauteed with green bell peppers, tomatoes and onions. The lamb has a mild flavor for those who don’t like its usual gamy funk, but not for those who like to keep things muttony.
While the awaze tibs are advertised as spicy, the sauteed meat and veggies aren’t. But beware of the rust-red paste that comes with the dish. That bitch has a bitter bite that adds good heat to the meal.
And blah blah blah blah … what about dessert? Two words: freakin’ awesome.
Photos: Definitely do it (top); do it (bottom). Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.
The house special is milifolle (or zuppa inglese, left), a beautifully dense vanilla pudding layered between thin leaves of puff pastry. It’s incredibly good, with that sweet, heavy pudding playing off the light pastry without smothering it. Damn, it’s good! I mean, DAMN! IT’S GOOD!
Then there’s the mocha cake (above), which layers yellow and mocha-flavored sponge cake with a third layer soaked in espresso. It’s beautiful in how it balances the caffeine kick with just enough sugar, without swinging wildly one way or the other. And the cake is moist without being soggy. Nice!
And then there’s the blackout cake (above) — chocolate sponge cake layered with chocolate pudding, then topped with chocolate ganache and chocolate shavings. Key word: chocolate. It’s everything a chocoholic could want in a cake and definitely has a rich streak, but not enough to turn off the casual cocoa eater.
Its stroke of genius is the slightly dry sponge cake. If the cake were too moist, the whole thing would be a lumpy mess; any drier, and it would crumble under the pudding’s weight. But Dama’s blackout cake wins the Goldilocks award: It’s just right.
Some Ethiopians pass on animal products for religious reasons, so the cafe serves a vegan yellow cake with vanilla “cream” frosting. The cake is a little dry, but nothing the frosting and fresh-fruit topping can’t cancel out. And it’s not dense or coarse like some vegan cakes can be. All in all, it’s pretty good.
The cakes are priced between $3.50 and $5 per generous serving. Uber-nice!
What’s really pleasant about Dama Cafe is its setting. The advantage to being tucked behind downtown’s larger buildings is the shaded patio in the rear, where one can relax on warmer days. Even if one must sit inside, there’s a small, cozy dining room that’s great for intimate conversation, and a brighter, busier seating area by the entrance.
Just skip the entrees and go straight to dessert. If you don’t eat your meat, you can still have pudding.
Dama Cafe, 811 Roeder Rd, Silver Spring.
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Damn you, Penguin! I am about to leave town and can’t go try any of this cake till next week.
Editor’s note: More cake for me! — JD (Sep 24, 2009)
We dined at Dama two weeks ago and also ate the vegetarian combo, and liked it. We’re regulars at Addis Ababa, but since some of their dishes changed about six months ago (new chef/cook?), have been looking for someplace else to dine. We thought the cabbage and greens were particularly good, while most of the rest were passable. I might suggest giving it another chance, as the poor cooking might have simply been particular to the meal you ordered, rather than indicative of their usual quality. You’re spot on about the desserts, though.
The possibility for outdoor dining is what is especially exciting. We have a small dog that we like to take out with us for walks and short shopping excursions to downtown. If we decide to eat while out, the dog severely limits our choices. The staff at Dama was more than welcoming to guests with pets (we weren’t the only ones with a dog when we ate).
Thanks for reviewing the veggies! Hopefully the staff will read this and improve a bit before I go. The cake sounds like, WOW. I would go for lunch, so I could spend the rest of the day working it off!
PS-that injera is a bit much for me. Can one go to an Ethiopian restaurant and eat the veggies with a fork? Or is that considered really dorky, the equivalent of eating stew with one’s hands?
We ate there several weeks ago and sat in the back garden. We thought the food compared well to Addis Abbaba and Abol and the garden was a lovely area of green right in the center of DTSS. Two negatives of our visit: no alcohol so no Ethiopian (or other) beer to wash down the meal; and a very noisy air conditioner or fan from the back of the building.
Thanks for the scoop on the vegan cake, Penguin. I took take-out from Dama a few weeks ago and thought it was okay, but most of my attention while waiting on focused on the goodies in the glass case up front. My ve-dar wasn’t working (you heard it hear first), so I had no idea that I could have taken one of those cakes with me.
Shame they don’t intend to serve wine or beer.
Alcohol no, dogs on patio yes? Veggie food? Sounds like a a nice joint! Do they serve non-alcoholic brew, such as O’Doul’s or Clausthaler or Kaliber? What about alcohol-free wine? Whole Foods carries these things, but few other groceries do. The distribution seems complicated for groceries, they may have to get them from alcohol distributors. I wonder if it is complicated for restaurants as well.
Just to be clear, Dama Cafe offers only one vegetarian dish: the combo platter. Everything else is meat, meat and more meat.
And cake.
Since, as you say, “Some Ethiopians pass on animal products for religious reasons,” I was surprised there weren’t more veg-friendly dishes there… Just, as you mentioned, the one platter. Sort of a bummer since the platter wasn’t anything to get excited over. Though the saucy bits were quite good.
Editor’s note: I think vegan cake should be considered a vegetable. — JD (Sep 24, 2009)
“Editor’s note: I think vegan cake should be considered a vegetable. — JD (Sep 24, 2009)”
Why not? Cakes are made out of wheat, and that’s a vegetable, right? One of the funniest moments on “King of the Hill” was when Peggy and Hank were at an all you can eat buffet, and Hank was loading up his plate with meat. Peggy reminded him that his doctor wanted him to eat vegetables, too. Hank said okay, he’d get a vegetable, and then instructed the server to give him some macaroni and cheese.
well, i ate at Dama two days ago with my wife and i taught the food was incredibly amazing. The vegi combo was delicious. The service is very good. oh ya, the cake is the best ever…i intend to be dining there for years to come.