I love spicy food as much as anyone but my Ethiopian experiences have been completely different from Joe's.
First, he writes: "Ethiopian is [...] wonderful if you're an option paralysis sufferer like I am..."
Funny thing, every Ethiopian place I've been to myself (i.e. both of them, neither of which is Blue Nile) is one of those where you have to choose three things from a list of seven, plus two things from a list of five. Then they brag on their menu that you have some five-digit number of options, and my math geek buddies and I carry out the combinatorics to see where they got that figure.
Much more importantly, he writes: "It's also pleasantly communal to share food family style with no utensils; you use the injera bread to scoop--it's surprisingly efficient."
Efficient, but depending on what sauces/entrees you got (aside from the spice, Ethiopian is remarkably similar in texture to baby food), this gets really really finger-licking messy. Also, the runny texture in my experience doesn't sit well with me (ahem - and apologies).
P.S. There's a wonderful Midwestern quiz-bowl story about "Ethiopian" seafood that I can't tell correctly. If you're familiar with it and wish to post it, comment away.
Posted by Matt Bruce at November 30, 2004 02:26 PM