The culinary heritage of many world cultures begins with bread. The French have their baguettes, American Indians have fry bread, East Indians, their na'an, the Armenians, lavash. In Ethiopia, the wonder bread of choice is injera, a sour, spongy flat bread made from teff, a grain found in the highlands of Ethiopia. Besides being highly nutritious, injera is functional. The bread is used to line the plates on which Ethiopian stews are served, soaking up juices and serving as the utensil with which you scoop up your food. The meal is not considered officially finished until all of this edible tablecloth is consumed.
The folks at Zeni Ethiopian Restaurant explain all of this as they set a platter the size of a sledding saucer before you. The food is served family-style upon this platter, arranged in piles atop the injera. A basket of additional injera, rolled like guest towels, sits ready for sopping.
If you’re new to Ethiopian cuisine, it helps to know what’s wot. Wot means "stew." There are two basic varieties here, kei wot, made with bebere, a thick sauce of red chiles and spices, and alicha wot, a milder yellow stew based on turmeric. Zeni makes both kei wot and alicha wot with chopped lean beef, but chicken (doro wot) is also available ($7.50). The chicken drumstick or thigh is skinless to allow the berbere to permeate the meat more easily. Although the bebere is spicy, the ginger and garlic used in this sauce do not stand idly by. Along with the clarified butter used here and in most dishes, these aromatics balance well with the chiles.
One of Ethiopia’s most distinctive dishes is kitfo, rare or raw steak seasoned with clarified butter and mitmita, hot chile powder. Unless you ask for your kitfo raw, Zeni will serve yours cooked. The meat comes finely minced and is one of the hotter dishes on the menu ($10.50). You may temper your mouth fire with some of the homemade cheese that is served with this dish. It is the consistency of cottage cheese and is mildly tart.
Tibs are grilled or sautéed meats, usually lamb or beef. Ye Beg Tibs are small cubes of lamb fried with green pepper and onions ($9). Rosemary and turmeric work well together here, although the lamb was somewhat dry.
Zeni offers several vegetarian dishes developed for the fasting days, when the Ethiopian Orthodox Church forbids eating any dairy, meat, or eggs. Instead of clarified butter, vegetable oil is used. Yemisir wot are split red lentils that have been pureed and simmered in berbere ($7.50). Pureeing the beans makes them easier to scoop up with injera.
You may conclude your feast with a traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, an important ritual of hospitality in Ethiopian culture ($25). Coffee is Ethiopia’s main export and central to their daily life. If you don’t have time for the coffee ceremony this time around, Zeni’s hospitality and distinctive cuisine will ensure this won’t be your last visit.