Tonight we tried the restaurant that the authors of Lonely Planet/Ethiopia
recommended as their favorite in Addis. It was up a hill with no
identification so our cab driver asked a person on the street and we
backed part way down the hill to the restaurant. It was located in an
older home and the two of the walls had been painted with a woman that
took up much of the wall and looked a whole lot like a Modigliani. It was
way cool. The menu was a feast for our eyes. There were lots of vegetarian
choices as well as meat and fish options. There was only one item that
didn't appeal to me: lamb brains! When I was really young my mom used to
make eggs and brains. Once I got old enough to realize what brains were, I
never ate them again. So we splurged and ordered drinks. I had lemon grass
ginger and Ron had jasmine orange. Yum. They brought bread to the table,
the best I have had here. Most breads are quite dry and crumbly. These
breads were moist and a little chewy. Yum again. There was an olive boat
on the table with a sprig of fresh rosemary. The waiter poured olive oil
on top of the rosemary, then he added an oil infused with coriander, then
he added salt and freshly ground pepper. We split a fresh lime mint
spinach salad with red onions, sultanas and pine nuts. I would have been
happy to call that a meal at this point of the evening. I ordered
Casablanca couscous with roasted summer vegetables and Ron had braised
artichokes with baked tomatoes stuffed with rice. Afterwards they brought
a dessert tray that was unbelievable! There had to have been close to 15
choices: both baked goodies and various sorbets and ice creams. After
saying we weren't going to have dessert, we changed our minds when we saw
the dessert tray. We split a scoop of mango and a scoop of lime mint
sorbet. I couldn't resist the fresh ginger hot tea. I thought I had died
and gone to heaven after that meal. I told Ron this needed to be a weekly
trek. So our bill (for the curious) was $25.80. Remember we split a
sandwich at the Hilton and our bill was half that amount. I would take
this place over the Hilton any day of the week. You just can't imagine how
happy I am to have found a restaurant of this caliber.