The best way to eat Ethiopian food is to get vegetarian special (available at every Ethiopian restaurant) and then a meat entree or two. Alicha Wot is my favorite, but you can sub out many meat dishes. The meal is balanced, nutritious, and has a ton of variety.
In Ethiopia, you generally can’t find much besides the vegetarian special on Mondays and Wednesdays at least in Christian parts of the country (the capital and most tourist cities of the north). So you have to embrace the vegan food if you’re there.
The first time I had Ethiopian food, decades ago, I thought it was some of the best food I’d ever eaten. Then I went years without eating it until a restaurant opened up nearby. It was run by Ethiopians but it was nothing like I remembered it. Didn’t enjoy it at all.
And about six months ago, a friend took me to an Ethiopian-run restaurant in Tokyo. And I found it just OK.
I want to find a place that delivers the experience I had the first time. I’m sure it’s out there, but it’s been hard to find.
It’s unlikely I’ll be able to meet up given our travel schedule unfortunately. Tomorrow we’re taking the train into Prague then touring the city with the family we’re visiting. There would be a slightest possibility tomorrow evening, but I’m not willing to commit to meeting unless I’m 100% confident I can do it. Considering I’ve only had about 10 hours of sleep combined over the last 3 days, I’m going to err on the side of increasing my rest. Thanks jet lag and 19 month old!
Thanks for the suggestions! I think a few of those were already on the list to visit.
C’mon, people, American cuisine is vast and full of many signature dishes, and just because a dish is regional within America doesn’t stop it from being an American dish.
New York pizza
Chicago deep dish pizza
Italian beef sandwiches
Philly cheesesteaks
Crawfish etoufee
Buttermilk fried chicken
Chitlins
Poboy sandwiches
The vast array of barbecued meats of many local styles
Chili
Cincinnati chili
The Mission style burrito
The California burrito
The New Mexico Christmas burrito
Buffalo wings
Lobster rolls
Clam chowder
Low country boil
The Cuban sandwich
Chicken and waffles
Spaghetti and meatballs (not Italian, Italian-American)
Green been casserole
Chicago style hot dogs
Jell-o salad
Blue crab
Dungeness crab
Red beans and rice
Loko moko
Poke
Gumbo
Chicken fired steak
Cobb salad
Ranch dressing
Pumpkin pie
Apple pie
Stuffing, of its many varieties
Cranberry sauce
Chocolate chip cookies
And then there’s the whole world of fusion cuisine, like Korean BBQ tacos and Greek gyro burgers and what have you, that are all definitely American. I’m not going to go to bat for all of those things as haute cuisine, but they’re American. But speaking of haute cuisine, a lot of it in America nowadays is a multi-ethnic fusion of techniques and ingredients which is most definitely American. Sure, much of this stuff has some roots and influences from places outside of America, but as at least mostly a nation of immigrants, that’s exactly what makes it American cuisine.
Fucking hell, I literally just flew out of Prague! We had a >3 hour delay for our flight to Athens and were just trying keep my 19 month old entertained. So we took turns walking around with him and he LOVES to press elevator buttons. It just so happens that I rode this exact set of elevators from the Xeet about 25 times today.
First flight I’ve missed in my life! Now hoping those European Socialist laws will properly compensate us for our delay. Aegean already got us a hotel across the street from the airport with dinner and breakfast included.
Ya, this is some good perspective. He had just gotten through jet lag and was back to his “normal” post-lunch nap too. There were so many things going on at the airport he was exploring, pressing buttons, etc. and getting himself into a state of overtired. Had we been there still he would’ve had a meltdown.
Another point of positive perspective that I hadn’t realized until this morning: our train from Pilsen to Prague was delayed something like 70 minutes. Had we arrived in Prague 70 minutes earlier, we would have been very near the university where the mass shooting occurred.
This ended up not working out - it looks like Norse has completely canceled their Boston-London route. There are plenty of other flights available, though not as cheap as $99 one way!
Good luck to anyone flying in the next few days. In addition to the specific planes being taken out of service, I imagine this could cause more systemic delays/disruptions due to schedulung and other logistical issues.
