The Weekly Whisk - 2/22/23

Musings from a foodie…

We had the opportunity to visit the Bay Area in the last few weeks and given the diversity of culinary experiences, we had a hard time picking out a place for dining. However, in negotiations with our family, it was decided to go with “Ethiopian”. Since I did not have any of that culinary type in my rolodex, I went on the web and within a 20+ block radius of our hotel in Berkeley, we discovered an array of Ethiopian culinary sites. So, I used the Yelp ratings where more than 200 people had voted and found a number of choices. Barcote Ethiopian Restaurant [ * * * * ] was located within a reasonable walk of our hotel so, off we went. It was a culinary gift. First, there was absolutely no pretension about the place. The workers worked every role you can define in a restaurant. Our waiter was also the greeter, cleaner, and general man-about-the-place-kind-of-worker. The food was really great and filling. Our waiter was incredibly flexible. We were able to create an “off-the-menu” offering of Ethiopian delights. Vegetarian Samosas (oh so good), a meat and veggie combo plate that include Misir Wot (lentils with barbeque sauce), Awib (an Ethiopian cottage cheese made with lemon juice) Ater Kik Alicha (split peas with turmeric and onion), Gomen (collard greens with onions and jalopenos), Atakilt (cabbage, carrots and potatos with turmeric and onion), Doro Wat (spicy chicken), Siga Alicha (beef with onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric sauce), Beg Wot (lamb in barbeque sauce) and Siga Wot (beef in a barbeque sauce) and an abundance of Injera (a flattened sour dough crepe for grabbing and eating your dinner) plus, REAL dark roasted expresso coffee (Yum!!). The only downside was the single waiter for a multiplicity of tables (@ 10+) all of which filled up while we were there. The ambiance was great. Our family members ran into friends and it was clearly “the place” for those on the hunt for some authentic Ethiopian culinary delights! Check ‘em out: Barcote Ethiopian Restaurant – 5430 Telegraph Avenue – Berkeley, CA  94705 – (510) 923-6181 – www.barcote.com

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