Smiling warmly, she gave us our choice of tables, either at a mesob (above, minus the kid) or at a traditional American table. We chose the table, only because it came up higher. (Read: Less of a distance for food to fall.) The young lady, wearing an Ethiopian, loose-fitting, white shirt and white head-scarf, both embroidered, brought us water and the menus.
Wat is your only choice, but what a selection of different wats there was! (Hello Ato Seuss!) All sorts of meat and vegetarian options. All served on one injera per table, with a basket of more injera for the initial scooping up of the delicious, spicy stews. (Right hand only.)
Rob and I dug in to our respective wats. Mine was based on savory red lentils, spicy enough to enhance the taste, but not enough to be uncomfortable. It was the perfect flavor against the slightly sour injera. Rob had a beef wat, which he said was, "Delicious." We were also given smaller portions of the split pea and collard green wats. I'm not a fan of split peas, but I'm not against them either. The collard greens were a bit sour. Odd.
The menu suggested ending the meal with either Ethiopian honey wine or coffee, which is roasted, ground, and brewed right there, after you order (or so they say). It reminded me of Turkish coffee, thicker and tastier than your regular brew. It was served in the clay pot that you see with a miniature cup.
We will go back, and we will bring our friends. And if you come to our house in the near future, know that I'll be ordering injera from this restaurant to support the numerous wats I'll be trying to make. Rob will love this! There will be only one dish to wash. No individual plates and no silverware. I think that this makes Ethiopian food Rob's new favorite!
1 comment:
What a neat experience. We'd love to try your wat or go with you sometime! :)
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