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I'm a HUGE fan of Ethiopian food. It's possibly my favorite type of food at this time, although food is really hard to rank, since it depends on my mood. But I love Ethiopian food. It's tasty, it's healthy, and it's a wonderful "poly" or social type of food.
If you've never eaten Ethiopian food, here's a little about it. There are beef, chicken and lamb dishes and a massive selection of vegetarian dishes. It may not turn out to be a favorite of yours, but I guarantee there will be *something* there you can eat, no matter what your dietary needs or even if you're just picky. You go with several people (yes, you can eat alone or as a couple, but it's more fun in a group). You each order one dish, or a couple, depending on how many of you there are. The food then comes all on one large plate (you can request to sepearate the meats and vegetarian dishes onto two separate plates) and is set down in the center of the table. You are given this flat, spongey bread-like food that comes rolled up like a napkin. You unroll it, tear off a piece about 2/3 the size of your hand. Hold it along your palm and fingers like you're trying to conceal it for a magic trick. Then reach your hand into the food and grab some food using the bread instead of your fingers. The food, now wrapped in the bread, is then eaten in this manner.
Many of the dishes are spicy, but I have a very low tolerance for spice and there are still several dishes I love. Everyone shares the food and you can sample many different dishes at one meal. It's a great social evening.
Why do I bring this up? Well, previously I could only eat Ethiopian food when I went to California for the holidays. But I have found an Ethiopian restaurant here in Orlando. It's on International Drive very close to the Convention Center. It's a little difficult to find because it's located in a strip mall behind the Howard Johnsons. Use that as a landmark. It has a website too, but the website doesn't rank very high on google. In fact, the first listing for "ethiopian orlando" is for a restaurant that closed some time ago. Their url is not very intuitive either. To save everyone else the effort, here's the link: http://www.nile07.com/pages/home.html.
So, in my selfish desire to keep this place open as long as possible, and to possibly arrange more group outings, I am recommending it to EVERYONE. They have a Meat Combination platter and a Vegetarian Platter dish (I forget what it's called exactly) that is wonderful for first-timers who don't know what to order. I also recommend throwing in a chicken or lamb dish in addition to all the beef in the Meat Sampler - and if you're not a fan of tripe, substitute the "tripa" for a second helping of one of the other meat dishes in that sampler.
So, go eat Ethiopian food!
If you've never eaten Ethiopian food, here's a little about it. There are beef, chicken and lamb dishes and a massive selection of vegetarian dishes. It may not turn out to be a favorite of yours, but I guarantee there will be *something* there you can eat, no matter what your dietary needs or even if you're just picky. You go with several people (yes, you can eat alone or as a couple, but it's more fun in a group). You each order one dish, or a couple, depending on how many of you there are. The food then comes all on one large plate (you can request to sepearate the meats and vegetarian dishes onto two separate plates) and is set down in the center of the table. You are given this flat, spongey bread-like food that comes rolled up like a napkin. You unroll it, tear off a piece about 2/3 the size of your hand. Hold it along your palm and fingers like you're trying to conceal it for a magic trick. Then reach your hand into the food and grab some food using the bread instead of your fingers. The food, now wrapped in the bread, is then eaten in this manner.
Many of the dishes are spicy, but I have a very low tolerance for spice and there are still several dishes I love. Everyone shares the food and you can sample many different dishes at one meal. It's a great social evening.
Why do I bring this up? Well, previously I could only eat Ethiopian food when I went to California for the holidays. But I have found an Ethiopian restaurant here in Orlando. It's on International Drive very close to the Convention Center. It's a little difficult to find because it's located in a strip mall behind the Howard Johnsons. Use that as a landmark. It has a website too, but the website doesn't rank very high on google. In fact, the first listing for "ethiopian orlando" is for a restaurant that closed some time ago. Their url is not very intuitive either. To save everyone else the effort, here's the link: http://www.nile07.com/pages/home.html.
So, in my selfish desire to keep this place open as long as possible, and to possibly arrange more group outings, I am recommending it to EVERYONE. They have a Meat Combination platter and a Vegetarian Platter dish (I forget what it's called exactly) that is wonderful for first-timers who don't know what to order. I also recommend throwing in a chicken or lamb dish in addition to all the beef in the Meat Sampler - and if you're not a fan of tripe, substitute the "tripa" for a second helping of one of the other meat dishes in that sampler.
So, go eat Ethiopian food!
