Fojol Bros. of Benethiopia

This is one of the best and most versatile food trucks. I cant call it exclusively ethiopian food because many days it has exclusively Indian food. I find it amazing that it can provide the cuisines of many nations extremely well, better than many brick and morter restaurants in the area. Do yourself a favor and get the chicken tikka masala. For the price, its the best.

I’d put this up there with ethiopian food I’ve had in some restaurants. Love the variety this adds to the standard lunch truck food selection.

The injera is delicious! I love that they give $ 2 bites, sometimes that’s all I want calorie wise. The food is spiced nicely.

Delicious green beans, beats, lentils, and injera! The only downside is I’ve heard some people feel the truck is offensive.

I don’t get Ethiopian food very often, so I just had to try this truck when I saw it at Franklin Park where a lot of trucks rally during lunch hours. Upon walking up, it had a fun vibe playing music and the guy that was in the front seat taking orders looked to be having a good time.
I went with the Pick 2 option and ordered the Beef Berbere but couldn’t decide on my second options so I asked the guy in the window and he suggested the Split peas. The beef was tender, spicy and full of flavor. The split peas were well-​prepared, well-​seasoned and a great suggestion. All of it was served with plenty of deliciously moist and flavorful Injera (Ethiopian bread).
Overall — the food is excellent, comes out quick and the service is great. They give you large portions at a very reasonable price. Ethiopian food is meant to be eaten using the Injera so they normally don’t give you utensils. So don’t be shy, use your hands and have fun with it.

I wanted to give this place a chance. After all, it’s Ethiopian food by the people for the people. Maybe not a staff full of Ethiopian people, but injera is so tasty to see it mobily moving around in a little truck of peace-​loving folk is a treasure. Or at least it should be.
Their portion sizes for the price is good. They give you injera true enough but it like 3-​pieces stacked up which makes for weird eating. Weirder than the fork they provide but that’s excusable and given it’s to-​go, I’d say a good idea. But my real problem is the food. Now I understand its not going to be called the same but the english equivalent. Fair enough. I got the key wot or here, beef berbere. But the flavor was mucho salt, not so much spice. The lentils same deal. Though the cabbage/​carrots were better, they were pretty greasy. Overall I won’t try it again. As a standalone tasty quick meal, it’s okay. I’ll try one of their other vans, thai or whatever else they have. But for Ethiopian, and I’ve had a lot of Ethiopian, there is only one place I’ve had that was worse. And in Little Ethiopia, that just doesn’t cut it.

Very good.
The people that run the trucks are very nice and the food is good. The food is so powerful that I saw it give a girl a mustache.
Price– Very cheap as it’s a food cart
Quality– I had the ethopian beef dish and cabbage/​carrots. Normally I actually don’t like ethopian because I think the spices overwhelm the flavor. I thought it was pretty good.
Quantity– Glad they have several quantity portions
Atmosphere– it’s a painted truck
Staff– very sweet and kind. Glad they left finance for this.
Check it out and grow a mustache

I’m rarely in the city midweek during the afternoon and Alexandria doesn’t allow food trucks. As a result, I’ve pretty much missed out on the wave of food trucks that have proliferated over the last few years. My loss! I was running an errand in the city on a Wednesday afternoon and stopped at Farragut Square to grab some food truck lunch. I’d heard good things about Fojol Bros. of Benethiopia and I love Ethiopian food, so it got the nod.
It was toward the end of the lunch rush, so there was only one customer in front of me in line. I ordered the Beef Berbere and Split Peas ($ 8). I was informed that they had sold out of the split peas, so the very personable order taker asked if I would take the Cabbage & Carrots instead. I had no objections to the substitution. For my willingness to be flexible, she offered me a Rose water/​Cardamom Lassipop. Now that’s great customer care! I love cardamom and the spice really worked well with the delicate flavor of the sweet rosewater lassi. First and foremost, Ethiopian food must have good injera. Fojol Bros. of Benethiopia had as good of an injera as any I’ve had. I’m not sure if it’s made by them or purchased, but it was moist, light, spongy, and held up well in its roll as a utensil/​accompaniment. I like spicy foods and the Beef Berbere brought the heat, but it also had great flavor. Very enjoyable. As luck would have it, they did have one last serving of split peas. It was good, but it was split peas. Portion size for the price was exceedingly generous and made for a filling lunch.
Based solely on the limitations of a food truck, Fojol Bros. of Benethiopia cannot match the variety of Ethiopian food offered at a brick & mortar restaurant. Also, as good as it is, Fojol Bros. will not be mistaken for Ethiopic (in my opinion, the best Ethiopian place in town
) That said, Fojol Bros. makes excellent Ethiopian food within the constraints of a food truck. Original or unique food truck concepts are hard to find. Really, must every truck offer Ko-​Mex tacos, pizza, or cupcakes? Fojol Bros. of Benethiopia is unique, delicious, and a great value!

This is my new favorite food truck.
I had the berbere beef and beets ($ 8 for the two) and they came with a very generous portion of injera. The beef is spicy but not overbearing at all; I have a very low spicy tolerance and I was able to handle it fine. The beets were a bit sweet and mixed very well with the sour injera and the savory beef.
The thai iced tea they had leftover from their Thai truck was a bit bitter, so perhaps their tea is just extra strong.
The workers were really fast and seemed genuinely friendly. The only thing bad I can think about this truck is that it’s CASH ONLY.

Saw this food truck at the metro center station and tried the two item combo with berbere beef and beets with beans ($ 8). The meat was very tasty and has a kick to it. The sauce is good but a bit oily. The beets were pickled and a bit salty. The injere bread helped neutralize all of the very strong flavors. Guy at the counter was very nice. Interesting find here in DC.

I came here the other day for the first part of my lunch (I had brought lunch but I wanted a little something to go with it). I had sworn them off because I thought they’d be way too hipster, but they had something for $ 2 and I was interested in that so I put aside my prejudice and waited in line.
I ordered their $ 2 dingo bite of beef berbere. The guy at the window was really nice and warned me that wasn’t going to be enough food. I said, this is my second lunch! He thanked me for having my second lunch with them. Nice service!
It didn’t take long to receive my food and I was pleased with the amount in the bowl. There was sauce, quite a few pieces of meat and two pieces of the injera bread. I was even more pleased that it was tasty!
Benethiopia Breakdown,
The food: It was good. It wasn’t as spicy as I thought it would be, but maybe if that was my entrée the heat would build up.
The value: For $ 2 it was a good amount of food.
The experience: It wasn’t too hipster so I was happy! It was nice. The guy calling out names was a little soft-​spoken so he was hard to hear.
3 stars?: How about 3.5 stars. I think I need to order a full entrée for the full effect.
Would I return?: Hmmmmm. yeah I guess I would!

They embrace what being a food truck is all about; they guys are colorfully dressed/​groomed and super friendly.
Tried them when they came up to Columbia Heights on a weeknight for dinner. That was pretty cool of them.
On to the food:
I had the beef stew and the split peas.
Beef stew: it was perfectly spicy. Enough heat to enjoy but not enough to make your nose run. However, the beef chucks were a bit dry. Maybe they were too lean and didn’t have some of the needed fat or they were just cooked for too long. Either way, the sauce helped and it was tasty. Probably a ³⁄₅.
Split peas: deliciousness. Sort of like mashed potatoes, but with more flavor. They had a green pepper hiding at the bottom and it was awesome. I really, really enjoyed this side dish. Lightly creamy. Just great. It’s the reason I’m giving them 4 stars instead of 3.
Injera: Standard. That is to say, it wasn’t bad or good. I’ve had good injera and i’ve had bad injera. This was okay.
Note: this meal was very messy. The oil in the beef stew leaked through the container and my hands retained the beef stew color of for a bit. Be warned trying to eat this with a suit or on a date; its sloppy.

I was so sad when Zed’s in Georgetown closed but now I’ve found Ethiopian food that is even better than theirs and it’s from a food truck! This is one of my first forays into the food truck world and this is looking to be the start of a very happy relationship between the Fojol Bros and I.
I got a Pick 2 with the Berbere Beef and the Split Peas. The portions are more than enough to fill even my insatiable appetite and you get a full stack of very good injera bread to boot. The beef was very tasty with lots of spice and flavour but not enough to be overwhelming. The beef was pretty tender and cut into perfectly injera-​wrapping sized pieces. The sauce, while a little greasy towards the bottom of the dish, was absolutely addictive. The split peas were also good, a tad dry, but a good contrast to the intense beef. I’m looking forward to trying the Beets and Beans the next time they roll into the neighborhood. Food verdict: totally «om nom nom» worthy.
While I had heard great things about the Fojol trucks and was expecting good food, I was not expecting what the food would do to me physically. After my satisfying meal, I laid down for a bit before starting my nighttime work and BAM, I was out cold in ten minutes and did not wake up until nearly three hours later. Not only has this never happened before, but as I student I cannot afford to lose so much time to this odd concept of «sleep». I swear, do they put ground up Lunesta or something in their food? Or maybe it’s just that their food sits like one of the tastiest food bricks in my stomach after eating that I’ve come across. I’m hoping it’s the later.
Overall: very good food, nice guys, decent value, and I get +5 hipster points for getting food truck Ethiopian food. I can’t complain about that.

This is a good introduction to Ethiopian food and an especially good way to try it as an individual portion. This is the one and only time that I’ve had it and it’s hard to describe the flavors. It’s different than anything I’ve ever eaten. Ethiopian food doesn’t get a lot of positive attention and, sadly, my only exposure to it was an episode of Bizarre Foods where even Andrew Zimmern seemed grossed-​out by the piles of fly-​infested raw meat. Luckily this isn’t like that at all.
Benethiopia serves thick stews that are a little on the spicy side, but they also give you a thick pile of spongy, slightly sour injera to accompany it. My biggest issue with it is that the menu doesn’t change much as far as I can tell. I have to REALLY be in the mood for beef berbere and then hope that they are going to be within a reasonable traveling distance from my office. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen most of the time…

This is some of the best Ethiopian food in the city.
I also have to respond to Steph W.‘s review below where she gives Benethiopia one star. She obviously doesn’t like Ethiopian food. She talks about how the «sponge» frightened her and will give her nightmares. Freaking out about the «sponge» also known as injera, is like getting Chinese food and saying «what were all those little white things it was served on… gross…they’re gonna give me nightmares!» That’s called rice, and you sound really stupid, Steph.
I didn’t think this was where people review whether or not they like Ethiopian food. I thought we were talking about Fojol Bros. of Benethiopia.
Also, I thought people tried to not reveal themselves to be complete idiots but I guess I’m wrong.

4.5 stars
It looks like Fojol Bros have done some growing up, and for the better! Yes, you still get the crazy costumes and antics, but it’s now tempered a bit with blankets for sitting on the grass near their truck and a slightly more professional demeanor. Also, with Benethiopia, I don’t have to trek up to U St for my Ethiopian fix as often. Usually in L’enfant on Thursdays, but follow their twitter feed for your location.
Just like their Merlindia truck, they do a sample size (bite $ 2), pick two items ($ 7) and pick three ($ 9), as well as a few lossipops ($ 2) and H20 ($ 1, from Pennsylvania). Still a cash only show, btw — I totally got yelled and lectured at last time for even asking about credit card at Merlindia, so I’m not happy with them at all.
They usually only have one kind of meat available — beef berbere the last 4 times I’ve gone– and it’s spicy and tasty. I never ate beets before Benethiopia, but their beets and green beans are phenomenal! The shiro is pretty tasty, and if you don’t know what shiro is, they’ll probably yell out a definition for every 4^th person who asks. (it’s basically a chickpea, onion, garlic purée that’s very yummy). I’ve also seen collard greens and lentils as sides, but have never tried ‘em. I’m also waiting on the cabbage and carrots!
All of the goodness is served with a generous helping of injera bread, and you’re ready for office food coma heaven.

Really? I was not a fan of this place.
I will say, their people are very friendly. I also really like that they have the various sized meals. They’re also more generous in their portion sizes than other food trucks.
But I won’t be going back, because the dishes I got were sooooooooooooooooooosososo incredibly (inedibly!) salty, that I only ate a quarter or so of the box… (don’t tell my parents, they might disown me). The injera had a strange sourness/​bitterness to it.
Sorry guys, I really feel very badly about this review – you really entertained me, and I walked away from your truck beaming from ear to ear. I just wish your food made me feel the same way your service does!

Okay, quest for the food trucks part 2 was launched today. I wanted to eat from the Mexican food truck, but I guess they had somewherez else to be. My next choice was the empananda truck but the line was like halfway around the block. Didn’t feel like eating french fries but off in the distance I see a colorful truck, looking like it was missing a butt load of suitcases, baskets and chickens on the roof.
So curiosity and hunger led me to investigate. Ethiopian food? From a truck? My normal Ethiopian cuisine excursions usually lead me to the U street corridor, so I thought oh man, I gotta try this. If you haven’t noticed, I’m new to the whole food truck phenom in DC.
So, I opted for the 2 choice plate for $ 7. Berebere meat and carrots (with jalepenos). I ended up with a little mexican in the mix after all. The wait wasn’t too long. What was kind of unusual yet sorta cool was the ‘70s porno music they had blaring from inside. I guess that was a warm-​up for all that touching, licking and sopping up with the hands. BOWM CHICKA BOWM BOWM! For those of you not familiar with eating Ethiopian, you don’t use utensils. You use the thin gauze-​looking bread called injara and your fingers.
Anyway, my dish came in a hefty one-​man sized portion on top of a giant piece of injara bread. They gave a gererous side of extra injara. The berebere was oh so succulant and I could tell they let it simmer for a long time. The carrots (and vegetables) were equally as tasty and tender.
I licked my fingers like a pornstar. I’m definitely a fan. Ok kiddies, until the next review…

Definitely the best Ethiopian food I’ve had from a DC food cart. But maybe that doesn’t help, because there aren’t very many Ethiopian food carts in DC. So aside from that, I’ll say it was solidly tasty.
The injera was just the same as at any of the good Ethiopian restaurants in the city; they probably get them from the same place. The dishes were pretty good. I would have enjoyed a little more spice, but it was a solid, tasty, lunch. I don’t see the truck that often, but when I do, I’d try it again.

Being a huge fan of Ethiopian food, I was delighted to see the Fojol Brothers expand into this cuisine with a new truck. The beef berbere was excellent with a subtle, late arriving hit of spiciness. They give you cute stacks of injera to soak up all of this tastiness, and the meal is also seated on a sheet of injera in the takeout container. The berbere lentils were also delicious. Both items rivaled what I’ve had at the local Ethiopian brick and mortar restaurants, but the convenience of the truck business plan gives Fojol an edge. The service was friendly and quick, with my meal being ready within 2 minutes of ordering.
The only downside of Benethiopia is their limited service times — they are currently only serving Wednesday to Friday. They are also a little inconsistent between their Twitter messages and reality. At least once, they have announced they will be in Metro Center, no showed, and issued no apology or notice on Twitter. This is frustrating when I’ve waited patiently for a while for them to show up. I’d like to see their schedule expanded to 5 days, especially because their food is well suited to cold weather eating.