Tigi's Ethiopian Restaurant and Market — Restaurant in Ellicott City

I'm not an adventurous guy but I love exploring new things. I know it is the greatest dichotomy of my life. One of the people I admired the most was Anthony Bourdain. He was a gifted storyteller. But what kept me glued to the tv when he was on was how he shared the humanity in all of us. He went to areas of this world where we were terrified of venturing into. And then we learn that these people that we fear are just like us. They are us. And I loved that about him. Instead of keeping people out, he brought them in and vice versa. It was one of those episodes I watched on TV that had stayed with me. It was about Ethiopia with chef Marcus Samuelsson. After that episode, I immediately looked up Ethiopian restaurant in the area. Tigi's was the closest I found. I said to myself, I am going to try it out. That was more than 6 years ago. Life gets busy and you put things off. I couldn't believe that much time had passed. I saw something yesterday that reminded me-what I I said to myselfI back then. No excuses. I am not leaving this planet until I try this. And the timing was right because the wife asked me to pick up dinner. And of course I felt some trepidation about the unknown. I am willing but is she? So I did what every normal person does. I ordered Chinese as well as the Ethiopian. Always have a backup plan. I studied the menu and not knowing what to order, I order the meat combo 3 which covers a lot of their offering. The place was empty at 5pm with some carry outs. And I talked with the owner for a bit. Very friendly and personable. I looked around the market. Reminded me of the small tiny Korean grocery store you would find back in the old days. Forgive the ramblings of an old man but let's go on to the food. Remember what I said about not being adventurous, and my wife even far less than I am. Well, the first thing I noticed was the scent in the car when I stepped in. It was not pleasant and I said oh no. I made a mistake. I drove home and that smell dissipated somewhat but I was still skeptical. When I got it in the house, there was no smell. I opened it up inside and I have to warn you, it is not for some people. The injera, which is a very very spongy textured type of bread is like nothing I have ever seen or felt before. I mean seriously, it looked exactly like the stomach lining of an animal. If you seen one, you know what I mean. So that aesthetic threw me off immediately. But damn it, I am going to give it a go. Wife was even more taken a back by the appearance. She asked what that was. I explained, as I had studied some videos before ordering. We broke the injera and used our hands as is customary and you know what? It was an incredible journey of flavor and texture. I loved the spices and everything about the meal. I am ordering everything dark next time because the darker items have the extra spices that I loved. And to my pleasant surprise, my wife loved it as much as I did. Yes, this is going in our regular rotation from now on. Keep your mind open to new people and things because you never know what you have been...

You know the best food comes out of the little holes in the wall restaurants, right? Unpretentious, even hard to find if you follow Garmin GPS, but amazing food. This is it, the little gem of Ethiopian food off the beaten path in Ellicot City. Never packed in the restaurant, but always a pickup order going out the door. Beef, lamb, chicken wots (stews) plus vegetarian dishes are all available. Don't know what to order, just ask. Don't forget the doro wot for the fun of the hard boiled egg. Veggie sides give your mouth a break from the spicy dishes so you can dive back in. Take your Tums if this is new to you. If raw beef kitfo doesn't appeal, just ask them to cook it.

Even a little shop next door for you if you want to try your hand at Wots at home. Yes, you do want to try it. Warm stews simmering away on a cold, snowy day while you shovel snow, come in and grab some injera and go to town on warm and spicy stews. Oh yes. Don't forget to give your cardiologist a headache and make a batch of Shiro on the side because no one needs that much butter, but damn it's good when you do.

If you've never had Ethiopian food before, grab a friend and go here. Its quiet enough that you won't get lost in it all. Then hit the Ethiopian places around the Baltimore Symphony Meyerhoff building to advance your experience. Then go full on, hit up Silver Spring aka Little Ethiopia for the full...

I didn't specifically rate the food, because it turns out I can't eat most of it and it doesn't seem fair to give them a low rating just because of my own sensitivities.

My date had a lamb dish that he said was "fine". Given that this was our first time trying Ethiopian food, he wasn't sure if he wasn't a huge fan of the specific cuisine or that specific dish. The vegan samosas were much spicier than anticipated, and the gluten free injera was extremely tangy compared to the regular injera (to the point that I really didn't like it but again that could be just me, but my date wasn't a fan either).

Service was good. Drinks were a bit slow to come out, but there was only one person working the customer side and she was serving restaurant customers as well as checking out grocery customers, so I think the slower service was due to her being stretched thin rather than inattention or lack of customer care.

The two of us probably won't be back, but only because this food is not really our thing. If you like Ethiopian food, it's probably a...