‘African’
While hanging out in Merzouga, we made our way to the Sudanese part of town (actually populated former slaves brought in from sub-Saharan Africa). It was there that we stopped to eat at a place called Cafe Restaurant Nora, which was apparently not named for my cousin Nora but for the daughter of the owner. Whatever. We were actually more excited about lunch than usual (I know, hard to believe), because we were told that Nora specialized in a “Saharan Pizza” (also known as “Berber Pizza.”)
As someone who has never eaten at an Ethiopian restaurant (insert politically incorrect joke about Ethiopians not actually being able to eat here), I decided to have my first time in style on a date night with the girlfriend. In the terribly trafficked part of Fairfax called Little Ethiopia, I found the perfect place, called Meals By Genet. This upscale Ethiopian joint would be my first dive into that crazy finger food so I hoped it would set me on a good path.
We were greeted by an incredibly passionate waitress as soon as we took our seats. Although clearly not Ethiopian, she really knew what she was talking about. She recommended a beer for me called Hakim Stout, which turned out to be pretty great and didn’t have the nasty coffee-like taste that some stouts tend to have. This was slightly ironic considering coffee is originally from from Ethiopia. See, you learn something new every day!