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RESTAURANT PICKS |
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Top Ethiopian Restaurant Pick (October 1999) Ras Kassa's - 2111 30th St., Boulder, Colorado (303-447-2919) The first thing you notice in this small restaurant is the coziness of the atmosphere. Yes, this is Boulder and they sure believe in a laid-back life-style. But Ras Kassa's gives a new meaning to laid-back when your table (messob) is so close to other diners that you actually start conversing with them. The clientele is of course mostly students and faculty from the university. The climate is one of the best in Ethiopian restaurants around the US. The food? Well, let us say when was the last time you had "hambasha" with "awaze" as an apetizer? It tastes okay but that is improvisation taken too far. The "tibs" could use a little bit of "bite" (add "berbere/awaze" please!). But the atmosphere.....it makes Ras Kassa's a winner.
Top Ethiopian Restaurant Picks (January 2000)
Merkato Restaurant (Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles). It is often difficult to find a single restaurant where you find the best tibis, shiro-wot, doro-wot, you name it under the same roof. It is the norm than exception to have some restaurants make the best tibis outside our mom's kitchen but fail terribly in some other dishes. This month, the editor of this column picks winners just based on a single dish. Best Shiro-wot. Merkato Restaurant - Los Angeles. When it comes to shiro, Merkato of Los Angeles never fails. There is something about their spices and the freshness of the shiro itself..Think of the rainy season in Ethiopia...sometime in July...it is pouring outside..you are inside your mom's kitchen near the fire-place...Your mom has just fixed you ingocha....and think of the sweet and spicy smell of the shiro on the "gulcha" that goes with it...Merkato's shiro will leave you with that feeling.
Top Ethiopian Restaurant Picks (Summer 2000) Fasika Restaurant (Boston, MA). Well, how many Ethiopian restaurants outside the country do claim to have an Ethiopian professional cook with more than 25 years of experience? Your humble editor knows of only Fasika in Boston. Run by a father-son team, Fasika is a small but delightful eatery with some of the best dishes you can find anywhere. The "tibis" has not only the hot and spicy bite but also the right tenderness that makes you ask for more. If you have the stomach for it, the stuffed green-pepper is a must with a shiro or lentils dish.
Top Ethiopian Restaurant Picks (Dec 2000 - Jan 2001)
Meskerem Restaurant (New York, NY). One of the oldest Ethiopian restaurants in New York City, Meskerem is best known for its coziness and highly-rated hospitality. Well, this is New York city where its residents and tourists alike indulge themselves in anything "ethnic" and Meskerem does not disappoint. Its vegetarian dishes (shiro, misir wot, alcha and qey kik wot) seem to be favored highly by New Yorkers. Mesqerem's decor, location, diverse and "cool" clientele [web-techies, multimedia artists, new economy workforce and what have you] along with and its long history make it as one of the best-known and successful Ethiopian restaurants in the US. The Ethiopian patrons may find Meskerem's dishes too conservative on the "berbere" and "qbe". But if you have non-Ethiopian friends who want to experience Ethiopian food, Meskerem is the place to take them to. Address:
468 W. 47th Street, New York, NY Red Sea Restaurant (San Diego, California). The first thing that impressed the editor of this column was the fact that Red Sea Restaurant was perhaps the first and only Ethiopian restaurant with a its own web-site and domain name. Operated by Shimmelis and Yeshume, a husband and wife team, Red Sea serves some of the finest Ethiopian dishes anywhere. The hot and spicy "awaze" they serve with their "tibs" [or in the "awaze tibs"] is their trademark that will make you beg for more. The decor is modest, the price reasonable, and the service is slow-paced but very polite. If you have a party of 3 or more, the full three-course Ethiopian coffee ceremony is something you can't afford to miss. Coffee, you see, is a serious business in Ethiopia where being treated to a three-course coffee ceremony is one of life's pleasure moments. Address: 4717 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105. (tel.) 619-285-9722 |
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