An Ethiopian Feast at Abyssinia

The bunch ventured up to Harlem to experience an Ethiopian feast at this charming little hole in the wall called Abyssinia. 

Our great experience included vegetable and meat sambusas.  Triangular, fried pockets filled with lentils or ground beef.

The sambusas were not greasy, hot and crispy on the outside and the lentils had good flavor, nicely accented by the spicy red sauce.  I find that anything fried, wrapped in crispy fried dough is delicious. Empanadas, potstickers, eggrolls, you name it, I love it.

Then a few extra large platters filled the tables!

The platters had a variety of meats, which included tibs (spiced, sliced beef), doro wat (chicken simmered in Berbere sauce) and everyone's favorite, yebeg alicha (lamb cooked in butter with onions and green peppers).

There were a variety of vegetables on the platter, like beets, greenbeans, chopped onions, pureed chickpeas, and collard greens.

The platters were accompanied by freshly made injera, thin, slightly sour, spongy crepes, used to pick up items from the platter.

A few platefuls of injera later, our chicken was picked clean!

Our gracious chef showed us the teff flour that is used to make the injera, imported from Ethiopia.

And then she invited us into the kitchen to see how it was made !  (I love kitchen invites !)  The teff flour is just mixed with water.

And then poured onto large hot plates.  She pours the teff flour mixture onto one side of the plate.

And then tilts the plate down to have the mixture glide to all the edges.

The injera takes only minutes to bubble up and cook.  The chef then swiftly lifts the injera off the plate with a straw disc and glides it to the side to cool before serving.

I couldn't imagine a more gracious and welcoming restaurant for the students to experience their first Ethiopian meal.  The restaurant is warm, the food is good, and quite light on the wallet !

Abyssinia
221 W 116th
New York, NY

Blue Smoke BBQ Brunch !

Recently, the gang brunched at Blue Smoke, a Danny Meyer restaurant specializing in barbecue from all the popular BBQ nexuses of the nation, including Texas (yeehaw !), North Carolina, Kansas City and Memphis.

We ordered a slew of appetizers including spicy cheesy fries with crispy but tender fries topped with a cheesy goo in addition to homemade  barbecue chips, heavily dusted with paprika and scarlet spices, served with a creamy blue cheese and bacon dip as well as a healthy side of macaroni and cheese.

For entrees, some students ordered dishes from the brunch menu in addition to the regular lunch menu, with large plates of eggs benedict, ribs, sausage, brisket, pulled pork and roast chicken filling our shiny, wooden tables. I ate the eggs benedict, which consisted of slices of smoked pork belly, poached eggs and Texas toast.

It was satisfying, as any perfectly poached egg would be, and the buttery Texas toast was a nice touch, but the dish was not particularly distinctive, even with thick slices of smoky pork belly.

Dessert was a highlight of the meal for most.  Large ice cream sundaes arrived at the table, thick slices of banana cream, and mini bundt lemonade cakes with thick blueberry sauce.  I enjoyed the bright citrusy flavors of the lemonade cake, but it was a bit plain compared to the stellar, fresh banana cream pie, which was less of a cream pie and more like delicious chunks of sweet bananas topped with a heavy layer of whipped cream.  It was quite delightful.

After gorging ourselves on America's greatest cuisine, we were treated to a guided tour from the head chef smoker of their ovens as well as their woodburning furnace.  It was a fun way to learn how they continuously smoke racks of ribs for 18 hours, and learn about the types of wood they used in the furnace to create their signature smoke flavor. 

Upon leaving, I saw a member of the kitchen staff carrying a huge tray of fried chicken which looked pretty stellar.  I might have to return to see what that's all about.  Aaaand eat a fat slice of banana cream pie !

Blue Smoke
116 E 27th St
New York, NY