Injera Anyone?

I know it's kind of hard to see, but here we are at Meskerem Restaurant in Charlotte, NC. It is an Ethiopian restaurant that Jamie's sister, Allison, discovered while eating at a similar one in Boston. Who knew we had such cultural gastronomic fare! We went there this past Labor Day weekend with Jamie's mom and two of his sisters, Lauren and Allison. It was a fun adventure to share while they were visiting from Florida and New York.

If I would have thought ahead, I would have had a picture taken of the food - it is certainly presented and enjoyed in a much different manner.

The way it works is the main course is placed on the center of the table. There is a large communal dish and at the bottom is injera. Injera is like a spongy, type of thin bread. We thought the closest thing to describe it for an American palate would be a pancake or crepe w/bubble holes in it. Injera is made from teff, an Ethiopian grain. They then put the entrees on top of the injera. We ordered Meskerem Tibs (lamb), Doro Wat (spicy chicken), Chicken Tibs (less spicy chicken) and a veggie combo that gave us a little Miser Alecha and Miser Wat (both lentils), Shro Wat (chickpeas) and some cabbage and string beans and carrots. For all you "southern food" lovers, there were also some collards! The dishes had various seasonings and were all really tasty. But the really fun part is how you eat it. NO UTENSILS. They bring a side plate of injera, rolled up, kind of like empty soft burrito shells. Then you break off a piece of the injera and scoop up the food you want to eat in that bite. Delish! You also can break off the injera that has been at the bottom of the meal, it has soaked up all the flavor and sauce from the food that was on it. Unfortunately by the time we got to that point we were all stuffed. Going there with a group of 5 definitely made it more fun, as we got to try so many different things.

Jamie and I look forward to going back and bringing new friends to enjoy the experience! It definitely takes any nerves away about what the food will be like when we actually travel to Ethiopia.

If you're up for a new dining experience, let us know! :)