Text 14521, 60 rader
Skriven 2008-10-01 20:28:42 av BURTON FORD (1:123/140)
Ärende: 51st. Wedding Anniversary
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Hi Folks           10/1/08 6:29 PM

For our 51st Anniversary [last Monday] we went last Saturday to an
Ethiopian restaurant in Rochester.   We had never had Ethiopian food 
that we know of.  It seemed like a fine adventure.

It was.  Our small table was in the bar room, nicely decorated in 
what I assume was Ethiopian style.   Four or five people seated at 
the bar and the bartender were all gabbing in a foreign language, 
assumed to be Ethiopian.  Very authentic.   The host, who was also 
the Bartender, our waiter, and I suspect at least part time kitchen 
help had a very nice foreign accent [I love accents] and was ultra
friendly.  He described the various foods on the menu very nicely, 
and gave us a good chance to decide.

They had one dish called a composite, and we picked the one for 
two people.  It came on a huge, round, plate, about 20" in diameter.  
It was fully covered in a 1/4" thick layer of Injera, an Ethiopian 
bread made from a flour of a grass called Teff.  Our jack-of-all-trades
server said the dough was allowed to ferment for a few days, which 
I guess gave it the 'foamy' texture. 

On the bread perimeter were four piles of different veggie sides, 
a kind of salad, one of creamy chick peas, one of a dark greens 
chopped small, and one creamy veg that was delicious but I can't 
remember what it was. All of those sides were tasty as all get out.

Across the middle were three piles of meat "wat"... each a kind of stew 
I think.  The first was beef in light colored unknown sauce.  It was 
not spicy, but it had a very different taste that I can't describe.  
I would hardly have known it was beef, but it was a great new taste.

The second was two large boned pieces of chicken, and one hard boiled 
egg, all in a Berbera sauce [if I remember] that was dark and contained
chilies... just enough to make it warm and delicious.  As some of you 
know I ain't wild about chicken, but that was stupendously good.  
The egg was the only thing we did not finish... it was just an egg. [g]

The third was the best... lamb stew in the same Berbera sauce.  Shirley 
is not yet crazy about lamb [she hates the cooking smell] but she 
loved that stew as much I did.

The most adventurous part of the meal was the eating!  A basket of 
injera served with the food plate.  It contained of 2-3" rolls of 
injera about 3-4" in width.  We learned quickly to use a few inches 
of the bread to grab the food and transfer it to our mouths.  Great 
fun!  We also tore out pieces of the Injera on the plate which was 
wet with the juices from the stews.  But the neat roles from the 
basket were easier to use.   We did half and half I guess.

Just a great experience that I highly recommend to those who have 
not done it.

My lady was a wonderful Dinner companion.


Burt 
 
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