Nyala Ethiopian Cuisine | lunch

Ok, letop5, you call yourself a foodie. You think you have a sophisticated palate. And you think you know Africa. So why did Ethiopian cuisine throw you for such a loop?

I ate Nigerian food off and on my entire childhood, and I've lived, briefly, in Morocco. But the thing is...Africa is huge. Nigeria is west. Morocco is north. Ethiopia...it's on the other side. And their food is entirely different. Not bad. Just different. And I think I've got a project on my hands, where Ethiopian food is concerned. I've got to figure that stuff out.

I was supposed to attend a French luncheon on Sunday with a friend who was visiting me named Bright (he did a Fulbright in Thailand). We got lost in Hollywood trying to find the location of the lunch (apparently Franklin Ave is not the same as Fountain Ave; my bad), so we gave up, out of hunger, and decided to go somewhere new and original and all that good stuff you always say you'll do right before you order pizza. This time we did it.

I'd heard from a few random online sources that Nyala is the best Ethiopian restaurant in Fire City, so I was psyched to finally be giving it a try (split infinitive!). And from the get-go, I was very impressed. You walk in, and this enriching smell of cloves, allspice and autumn, envelopes you, cradling you comfortably close to Nyala's kitschily decorated bosom. You seat yourself at a table that has no silverware and wait til a kindly smiling waitress presents a menu. You can't pronounce anything on it, and you absently wonder to yourself, "...should I wash my hands?"

Yes, you should.

Ethiopian food is eaten communally, like Moroccan food, with the hands. By tearing flaps off a huge flappy hunk of flappy, more-tangy-than-sourdough-tasting flap bread (it's actually called injera), the food is scooped from the plate and deposited by the mouthful towards one's stomach. The food is rich with spices but not with sodium, and I wanted to add salt--but I didn't, because I also wanted the experience to be pure. If this was the best, I needed to eat it as the chef presumably intended.

Not starving-mad hungry, Bright and I ordered the Vegetarian combo and a pot of Ethiopian tea to share. The tea smelled amazing, but tasted just alright, a bit weak. But I guess that was our doing, because they gave us an extra bag, and I decided to pocket it (un-steeped, mind you) for a later time. Food-wise, my favorites on the veggie plate were the yemisir wot (red lentils simmered with garlic, ginger, some chilis and random spices) and the YeAtkilt Wot (fresh cabbage and carrots sauteed in garlic, ginger and olive oil). There were also yellow lentils that kind of reminded me of Indian dahl, but with different spices.

That was one thing I really, really will remember about Ethiopian food: the spices. Ginger and garlic are two of my favorites, and the Nyala chef seemed to be sauteeing or simmering or marinating or seasoning or otherwise flavoring every dish in this place with a liberal helping of G&G. So though I may not be able to pronounce the foods, aside from the bread, which will take some getting used to, everything struck me as pretty worthwhile.

in five: I think a 3.5? I don't know what a 5 would be, but I think this was a 3.5; just a little bland for me. Maybe I should have added that salt.

highlight of the meal: the free appetizer of pita bread and spicy hummous/fava bean/something good dip with chili-spiked olive oil swirled through it. Delicious, with a capital "D."

(Website not working as of post): http://nyala-la.com/