Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

I was in the mood for something a little different for dinner on my trip to Crystal City. Ethiopian food fit the bill. I enjoyed my dinner in Enjera on the quaint main street that used to be the business district before Big Development came to town. This is my veggie special. It packed an amazing variety of textures, flavors, and colors onto one plate, particularly given that none of the dishes included meat.

I decided to dine at home and Ethiopian sounded like a nice change of pace. Meserkem is one of the cluster of restaurants at Ethiopian Corner, Clairmont and Briarcliff. I used that electric Internet thingy to order some lamb tibs. Some time later, a car pulled up and the very nice ladies inside handed me a bag with my dinner. My lamb was wonderful. It was very tender and juicy. The sauce, which I ordered as mildly spicy, was rich in flavor and just a little heat. Ethiopian bread is the perfect texture for its designated task of picking up and holding food; it tastes great, too. My salad was very fresh and its dressing was flavorful without being overpowering.

I went back to Ledet for the first time in awhile. It is one of the several Ethopian restaurants on what I think of as Ethiopian Corner at Clairmont and Briarcliff. The service, I must say, was spotty and the bathroom fixtures in need of major repair, but the food was quite good. Ethiopian food has an amazing variety of ways to prepare both meats and vegetables, all with emphasis on sauces. I had the vegetarian platter. The dishes included lentils, beets, leafy vegetables, and one or two things I couldn't identify. Everything was great. The vegetables were all cooked to the proper texture, not too soft and not too chewy. The sauces were all spicy in the best sense, flavorful but not overpowering. And I finally figured out that you can reuse a piece of bread several times, thus saving a little on starch intake.

I've passed by this restaurant quite a few times but this is the first time I've been in. It's located near Target at Briarcliff and North Druid Hills. The front is plain but the atmosphere inside is more upscale. They have what seems to be a well-stocked bar and they have jazz performances on some nights. The seating was mostly European-style (chairs); they probably have some cushions but I didn't see them. I just stopped by for a quick buffet lunch. As you can see, I got carried away---you're supposed to dip your bread into the food, not spoon the food on top of it. It was pretty tasty; I'd say medium spicy, enough to get your attention but not too hot. Dinner would, of course, be a better test. I plan to try out their dinner some time.

I just figured out that Desta, the Ethiopian restaurant I reviewed over the summer, has a drive-in window! I noticed it when I went to the post office---it's tucked in the back of their building. Desta, by the way, is at the corner of Shallowford and Clairmont, near I-85. This isn't Dariy Queen---you're supposed to call in your order and pick it up. But it's very easy to call before you get on the highway and pick it up when you arrive. I ordered a vegetarian medley for lunch. As you can see, it had five different dishes; I didn't show the Ethiopian bread here. The food was very good. I only wish that I had eaten it right-to-left rather than left-to-right; I would have enjoyed the textures more that way, but live and learn.

Although I don't see much mention of it, Atlanta seems to have a very large Ethiopian population.  One piece of evidence is the amazing variety of Ethiopian restaurants.  They're all over town, but the corner of Clairmont and Briarcliff alone has four of them.  This intersection is at the Clairmont exit of I-85, so it's very easy to reach if you have a hankering for Ethiopian cuisine. Today's lunch was at Desta Ethiopian Kitchen, located at that very intersection.  The decor is modern---tables and chairs rather than the traditional pillows, jazz playing on the sound system.  Desta is open all day, from breakfast through late-night drinks. I started off with a house salad.  It looked like a typical salad, but the dressing was a light oil and lemon with a good dose of salt, which was a welcome variation. My main course was the veggie combo.  The presentation was striking---six dishes on a white rectangular plate.  The dish had three sets of hot ...