I'm rushing to leave my house for a dinner, trying to figure out where I misplaced my keys this time when my stomach lets out a grumble. Opening my fridge I spot a Styrofoam box, leftovers from dinner at Lalibela, LA's latest Ethiopian restaurant. The inside of the box is a mess, vegetables and stews having blended over my trip home from the restaurant. I tell myself not to eat too much (I am joining friends to eat after all) but before I know it I have made my way through most of the leftovers, and I'm savoring every perfectly spiced morsel. I think that's how I want to start my article, not with a description of Ethiopian food or a detail of my experiences trying it for the first time but with this: Lalibela's Ethiopian food is delicious, even a day later, cold and all jumbled up, and you should eat there.
As anyone who has lived in Los Angeles long enough will tell you, the best place for any food is wherever people from that culture live. Persian food thrives in Westwood's Persian Square and for proper Thai food, head north to Thai-town. For LA's best Ethiopian food then, you want to be on Fairfax ave, in Little Ethiopia. Ethiopian food revolves around injera, a savoury crepe made of fermented teff flour and similar to the Indian Dosa.
Injera is traditionally spread onto a large plate to form a base for multiple stews made of vegetables, meats and cottage cheese. It has a sourdough like tang to it and the stews tend to be deceptively rich, savory with a mild spice to them. The vegetables are normally light and focus attention onto the vegetable' s own flavors, complementing the meatier parts of the meal to make it feel well balanced and wholesome. The end product is delicious, mild enough on spice for anyone's tolerance but with a complex flavor made unique by the Ethiopian herbs and spices involved. My favorite part of the meal however, is the communal style of eating. Be prepared for your table to share one large plate of food and eat with your hands.
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Lalibela's charm is apparent the moment you step in, the décor is relaxed but smart with soft white dining tables and Ethiopian fabrics on the wall. Through the back is another room with lowset tables and a door leading to the back patio, perfect for summer evenings. The atmosphere puts you at ease and the waiters only help by being sweet and helpful. If you have dietary restricitions or preferences they will be happy to recommend something suitable, I recommend the veggie utopia, a platter of 14 different preparations. After a quick consultation with our waiter we ordered the veggie combo with doro wat, a chicken stew, and then sambusa (savory lentil pies like the Indian dosa) to tide us over till the main course arrived. When the food arrives it looks beautiful, small hills of vegetables spread along the border of a huge round of injera, almost rainbow like in their colors. Our waitress carefully pours the doro wat into the centre of the plate completing our dish.
The food tastes excellent, it might have taken a while to come out but its fresh and made to order. More importantly, it's fun. I find myself not looking at my phone because I'm using my hands and interacting with my friends as we eat of the same plate. My only warning would be to watch how much you eat, our meal is rich and I'm full much sooner than I expected.
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End with an Ethiopian coffee, its strong and the perfect way to cap your meal.