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| - In a nutshell: it's worth going to try the food, but only if you're not in a hurry or expecting a great service experience.
The first impression when I walked in was unpleasant, my friend and I actually considered leaving. We were confused as to where to sit, as half of the place is a traditional bar with TV, while the restaurant half was empty without any servers. The bartender did not greet us or offer up any help as we clearly wavered. We went ahead and sat at the bar first, where we were very much ignored. When we finally got her attention, and were told to sit wherever we want -- we made sure to sit far away from her in the restaurant section.
Once a server showed up with menus -- after another awkward, unsure wait -- things finally started to pick up. He was very friendly, and made solid recommendations since neither my friend nor I had eaten Ethiopian food.
While I don't have another reference to compare it to, I enjoyed the food the well enough. We split the beef combination platter, and found the Tibs and Kaywat tasty. I liked the former best, the latter is a bit like spicy sloppy joes. Collar greens were good, too, but I wasn't a big fan of the yellow split peas. The Injera bread you eat with is just tolerable -- very spongy. And the salad is just a small pile of lettuce.
It's worth noting they do have more traditional American bar food such as burgers, chicken fingers and nachos on their menu as well, which goes well with the bar half of the restaurant. We ordered chicken fingers and fries as a just-in-case backup, and had no complaints there. The chicken tenders were quality white meat and quite crispy.
Overall, we were underwhelmed by the service and atmosphere, and a bit overwhelmed by the unfamiliar menu. But I'm still glad we tried this place -- good, new food, and a new local business that will hopefully find it's way and improve. I'd give it another chance..... on a slow night when I'm not that hungry.
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