Meskerem
468 West 47th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues
New York, NY 10036
212-664-0520
Before a performance of the best musical ever, Xanadu, Lisa and I settled upon having Ethiopian food before the disco ball fest that would follow. We both have had Ethiopian food only once before and had liked it. It had been several years for me, but I recalled the Indian food-like dishes and scooping them up with a piece of bread called injera which is a sour tasting, fermeted teff (a teeny grain) flatbread. I was later informed that you are supposed to eat with your right hand (thanks Lily!) which worked out well since I’m right handed.
Lisa ordered the sampler which lets you try several different options, both veggie and non-veg. I wish I had picked up a to-go menu since Menupages.com isn’t cutting it and my memory has been muddled lately. She let me try her items, and I approved. Unfortunately the waitress didn’t explain what each portion was; they needed place cards! I’m pretty sure I ordered special tibs, boneless chunks of lamb sauteed with honey wine and vegetables and completed with awaze (mild berbere/ground red pepper) sauce. Lisa, if you can confirm/deny this, please let me know! Bad memory, bad! Thumbs up to the dish, regardless. Her sampler and my tibs came on the same giant piece of injera. I’m all about sharing food, so Ethiopian food is tops in my book.
I saw tej (honey wine) on the menu and asked the waitress about it. She replied that it is very sweet and offered to let me try some. I took her up on the offer and wholeheartedly agree: very sweet, approaching the level of a Krispy Kreme donut. Too dessert wine for my tastes…it would be a refreshing post-meal sipper, but not during the meal, at least in my personal opinion.
Though I wasn’t ravenous when I showed up at Meskerem, the portion sizes are hearty and not skimpy; there was plenty of injera left over. The restaurant is a bit away from the hustle bustle of Hell’s Kitchen closer to the Theater District, but it’s not miles away either. Tables too close together: I could deduce that a couple two tables away were on a date. And they kept dimming the lights and went past the level of readability. Eh. But free tej sample for me!
Thanks to ethiopianrestaurant.com, a handy resource for educating myself on Ethiopian cuisine.
So Xanadu was good? I want to see! And I want to try Ethiopian food…
Xanadu is the best musical ever. Or should I say, was, since it closed and isn’t on Broadway anymore. But you need to try Ethiopian food! Delicious stuff.