Queen of Sheba and Tiny Cups of Coffee

So ever since we made the switch to Ethiopia, I have had several adoptive families mention Queen of Sheba restaurant to me.  It's an Ethiopian restaurant in Louisville, which is not far from Lexington, so last week we made plans with some friends (Mark & Lindsay!) to head over and try food we've never had before.

It is a simple little restaurant, but the food is delicious!  The service was very good too.  I have never been so clueless about food in my life, and NONE of us knew ANYthing about the menu we were looking at.  Alicha Sega Wot?  Timatim Selata?  Beyaynetu?  What?!  Yeah....So we basically told our server to recommend and practically order our food for us.  We ended up with two main items:  Gored-Gord, which is fresh prime lean beef cutes sauteed in Ethiopian spices, and Doro Tips, which are chicken cubes sauteed with onions, jalapeno peppers, fresh tomatoes, garlic and Ethiopian spices.  As you can see in the picture, it is served on one big plate, on top of Injera (kind of Ethiopia's answer to crepes).  The pile of cooked leafy greens is Gomen Wot (collard greens!).  And then I'm pretty sure the cooked lentils are called Misir Wot (the red beany looking stuff).  And the best part was that we got to eat with our hands!  I know I'm a total dork for getting excited about that, but it takes me back to my days in India and Nepal.  There's just something so enjoyable about scooping food up with your fingers.  With Ethiopian cuisine, you usually use the injera to pick up the meat and vegetables.  SO fun!

Doro Tips

Gored-Gored

Using Injera to pick up meat.

After the meal, Wes and Lindsay got some Baklava (not so sure if this is an Ethiopian thing as well as Greek, but it was delicious none-the-less).  Wes also ordered the traditional Ethiopian coffee.  For some reason we were all fascinated with the coffee pot itself.  How cool is that thing!  And I don't know why, but they give you an itty bitty coffee cup to drink it with.  It was way too strong for me, but what coffee isn't.  Oh how I wish I liked coffee.  Well, when we go to Ethiopia, I will choke it down, because I am not going to miss out on the traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony!

REALLY cool coffee pot.

REALLY tiny coffee cup.

So that was our outing at Queen of Sheba.  I am SO glad we went.  I want to soak up as much as the Ethiopian culture as I can before Baby Mullins gets home!

Wes, Nina, Lindsay, Mark

*oh and if you're interested in a really cool giveaway, stop by Reflections:  another adoptive-mother-to-be's blog!