Langano provides eclectic array of food

Langano Ethiopian Restaurant brings eclecticism and Ethiopian sophistication to downtown Silver Spring, a pleasant contrast to the overly-familiar cuisine in the area.

Upon entering the dining area, guests immediately notice the open expanse of the dining rooms, the warm, dim lights, the traditional injera bakery in the corner of the restaurant and, on Friday and Saturday nights, the live Ethiopian entertainers from Blue Band. Langano's serene ambience is filled with chatter, mellow music and the swift swooshes of hands scooping meat and vegetables from the injera bread base.

Co-owners Yohannis Yibass and his sister established the restaurant three and a half years ago in an effort to offer the area traditional Ethiopian dishes so close to home that, according to Yibass, a majority of their customers are native Ethiopians.

To begin, waiters provide a woven basket of injera bread in tightly packed rolls. The sour, spongy flatbread can be used as both a dish and utensil.

Langano's atakilt beyayinetu vegetable platter ($9.50) is a blissful oasis of vegetarians. The atakilt beyayinetu is a scrumptious mélange of steamed white cabbages and sautéed collar greens. The yatakilt wot ($8.00) is also a superb selection, consisting of plump potatoes, steamed, juicy carrots and sweet onions sautéed with a zesty garlic and ginger blend.

The strength, however, of Langano lies in its 20-item meat menu. The majority of selections are spiced and marinated in pungent spices and herbs. The yebeg alicha ($9.50) is a well-balanced combination of lamb chunks sautéed with slices of fresh onions and green peppers and lightly spiced with a tinge of black pepper. The beef entrées are especially powerful, particularly the key wot ($9.50), which consists of fresh cubes of beef cooked with hot pepper sauce and richly seasoned with piquant Ethiopian spices. The key minchetabish ($9.50), however, paled in comparison to the key wot; the minced beef was drowned in the hot pepper sauce and the starchy brown sauce.

Though there is only one poultry entrée, the chicken cooked Ethiopian style with a hard-boiled egg on the side is delicately prepared and is Ethiopia's unofficial national food. The tender pieces of chicken fall off the bone ever so easily, and the hard-boiled egg is firm and mildly spicy.

The food is exquisitely prepared and unparalleled for an Ethiopian restaurant in the area, and the service is truly admirable. Whether the waiters and waitresses are teaching you how to eat the food or explaining the native items and seemingly intimidating terms on the menu, they are warm and genuine, making dining at Langano a pleasurable experience.

Though the pictures hanging on the walls of Lake Langano and the soothing Ethiopian music playing in the background cannot replace the authenticity of a real night dining overlooking the lakefront, a night out at Langano comes close.