Yesterday after visiting the gardens, we went to the Ethiopian restaurant Meskerem on South Grand. There we enjoyed its excellent and authentic traditional Ethiopian cuisine. This restaurant is named after the first month of the Ethiopian calendar. It is the most favored month in Ethiopia because it ends the three month long rainy season and begins a new year marked by sunny and pleasant weather. Meskerem is a symbol of new beginning, new life, joy and renewal of hope for all people. 

Anne ordered their Yebege Alecha Wat. Tender pieces of lamb marinated with Ethiopian spiced butter then sautéed with ginger, garlic, and curry. I had Tibs N’ Quosta, sautéed beef mixed with Quosta (spinach slowly simmered with onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes), onions and green peppers. Both dishes were served on two-foot diameter plates, lined with injera, a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, made with teff flour.

Anne also ordered a spiced tea, and I had their Ethiopian coffee, which was served with burning incense. We have experience with Ethiopian coffee from our Team Kaldi’s days. Kaldi was the legendary Ethiopian shepherd who first discovered coffee, when he noticed that goats who ate the berries from this one plant were energized and began prancing and dancing up the mountainside.

Traditionally, Ethiopia was Christian as the pictured iconography implies, with Judo-Christian ties dating back to Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Ethiopia is still home to many ancient Christian sites. We found our brief afternoon visit with their culture delightful and look forward to returning.