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| - Very good Ethiopian restaurant - I was unfamiliar with the neighbourhood and came in here only because I was tired of walking at 9 PM and hadn't eaten in hours. The server was a very nice young woman who couldn't have been much older than myself; it seems she was running the show entirely by herself at this hour of night, as she came out to show us our coffee beans as she was roasting them.
I came with a date who had never eaten Ethiopian before. I usually stick to vegetarian dishes when I go for Ethiopian food, but this night I decided to try kitfo - a mixture of raw lean beef and cottage cheese with spices. It was very delicious, tender and soft - they offer you extra pepper if you'd like, which I sprinkled liberally over my food - it cleared my sinuses quite a bit...
I don't remember what my boyfriend had; it was some mixture of beef and injera. It was also quite good. Also of note is that the water was unusually pure and clean tasting. The restaurant was a calm atmosphere, but offers some rather funky Ethiopian music at a pleasant volume. The other patrons all seemed to be Ethiopian or Eritrean themselves, and most only came in for a drink. They were familiar with the woman running the restaurant.
For $10 you can order an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, which includes a bowl of popcorn, some fancy incense (if you wish), and a strange-looking pot of delicious strong coffee with free refills and sugar on the side.
It was, needless to say, a great experience, and my boyfriend was impressed. Around 10:30 pm a group of men came in - one of them was the owner, who was very friendly and asked us how we felt about the food and service.
Cost for two entrées, a beer and the coffee ceremony was $38. We tipped generously. Will come back again.
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