I love and try to fully appreciate ethnic food – as “out there” and beyond my cultural comprehension it may be. So for lunch on Wednesday, I suggested to Esther that we try Ethiopian food – and, luckily, there just happens to be an Ethiopian restaurant nearby – Zeni Ethiopian Restaurant. I ordered the Vegetarian Combo (full of things I cannot pronounce – “A combination of YE-MISER WOT ,YE-KIK ALITCHA, ATAKELT WOT, YE-GOMEN WOT, YE TIMATIM FITFIT” – $11.50) while Carrie & Esther opted for a meat dish (KIKIL KITFO – $10.99). There are no utensils involved – everything is “finger food.” The staple of Ethiopian food is Injera, an unleavened sponge-like bread which is eaten with pretty much everything else. It is basically your “utensil” as you use it to scoop meat, sauces, etc.

Injera, the traditional Ethiopian unleavened bread

The vegetarian combo. All of the dishes are placed on a large, circular injera mat.

Conclusion? I loved it and would heartily eat another Ethiopian meal. Esther and Carrie on the other hand said they would not return because the dishes were merely “ok” and the taste a bit too alien (the bread and other dishes had a unique sour flavor to them). Understandable, of course. But you’ll never know what you like or dislike until you try it of course!