Ariella of the blog Champagne and a Dream was in a celebratory mood and invited me out to dinner. Ok cool! We decided on Ethiopian food and ventured out to Manhattan on a Sunday night to Queen of Sheba. It’s located near Times Square and has been a mainstay for over ten years. I love Ethiopian cuisine, so of course, I’m all kinds of excited. We were meeting another blogger friend Veronica of Brooklyn Petite, at the restaurant, it was her first time having Ethiopian food.

What Is The Restaurant Like?

The restaurant was typically busy. The restaurant has a great atmosphere with the latest Ethiopian music playing in the background.Because we arrived during a rush it took awhile to get our orders taken, we weren’t going to bother with appetizers and ordered our main entree with drinks. Everything that was ordered, is eaten with your hands, preferably the right hand and dolloped out on a communal metal platter at time clock stations with the most substantial in the middle with more injera bread on the side. The spongy tangy injera bread which is made with teff, a tiny nutrient-dense grain acts as the spoon in the meal. You tear off a piece and use it to scoop a bit of the stewed food on the bread and it’s eaten together.

What Did We Order at Queen Of Sheba?

I ordered the Chef’s Special Tibs, (cubes of lamb rubbed with spices and stir-fried with rosemary, onions, and garlic). Ariella ordered the Taste of Sheba combination platter which included Tibs Wot (seared beef served in berbere stew),Menchet Abesh Wot( ground beef simmered in a green pepper sauce, red wine, jalapenos,garlic and ginger), Menchet Alecha (a milder version of Menchet Abesh Wot), Gomen Besiga(cubed beef with collard greens, mild onions and aliwa spices), Bozena Shiro (beef cooked in a chickpea gravy), Yebeg Wot (lamb stew), and Yebeg Alecha (diced on the bone lamb) and we basically shared all of it with each other, family style.

It was flavorful and satisfying, this kind of meal for long talks and exchanging ideas, no rushing here. We were ravenous in the beginning, and because the food was so good we must have seemed like a pack of wild dogs to other people in the restaurant and when we were finally full, we looked down and saw that there was still food left on our platter. Happy bellies!  Veronica was happy she tried something new and everyone was fully satiated and tired from a long day we were very quiet and sleepy on the train ride home.Have you ever had Ethiopian food? What is the most exciting cuisine that you have ever tried? Chime in, I would like to hear about it.

Have you ever had Ethiopian food? What is the most exciting cuisine that you have ever tried? Chime in, I would like to hear about it.