Research called Lunch

Recently my dad was visiting and we had dinner at Harrar in South Orange. What a charming experience and great food. Ethiopian food is eaten by scooping the food with bread and there are no utensils. The bread is very spongy and the food has unusual spices, like Indian food but not quite. For coffee lovers, it is heaven. We did not get to the coffee ceremony but the after dinner coffee was outstanding. definitely try this place. Oh , the price is very reasonable.

Fran had heard about this cuisine from her son and was curious. When lunch time came today, we discovered Harrar is not open for lunch. Darn! I had heard that there were three Eithopian restaurants in South Orange so we looked up the spot on Irvington Ave,Lalibela.

Lunch was wonderful and we learned a lot. We asked Melkit, the chef, for a platter to share, chef's choice. The huge tray covered with injera, a large sourdough flatbread, came with sauteed collard greens, a lightly seasoned salad, a lentil stew and a stew of beef and tomatoes. The greens were lovely, still a little crunchy and sweet. the lentils surprisingly sweet and seasoned with unknown flavors. The beef was soft and seasoned with a spice new to us called berbere. Really beautiful flavors and very filling. Berbere (ber-ber-ee) is a spice mixture which Melkit let us taste. It was like a paprika and a chile powder, but with sweet notes. This is a delightful place, parking was easy, the food was delicious and inexpensive, the service attentive and friendly. Go and be enchanted.

We hope that we can use this spice to bring an Ethiopian inspired dish to DinnerSmith. Look for it over the summer.