Jackson Heights Life

I went to Zabb yesterday for the first time and when I ordered I was told Americans didn't like the dish I had selected so I had to choose another.  I didn't press this, but it made me not so keen on the place.  Also, I got something with tofu and was given chicken.  Fine for me, as I eat both, but not everyone does.  So as much as I'd like to get close to eating in Thailand, I wasn't allowed.

That's hysterical.  Imagine going to an Italian restaurant and being told something like that!    :2funny:

Yeah my mom's a German immigrant--I thought of her telling people they can't drink beer because they are American. 

Oh man. Of course I feel that everyone should be able to order what they want. On the other hand, I've witnessed several instances where the patron requested for a dish "extra spicy" or "Thai spicy" even against the waitstaff's warnings, only to send it back to the kitchen because it was too spicy.

I've also been in Ethiopian restaurants where I ordered the kitfo or gored gored (raw meat) only to be told that only Ethiopians would eat it...but I just tell them I've had it before and all's good.

Be persistent!

It was the yellow curry.  I usually press but I hadn't been there before so I just got green curry instead.  I love sour and spicy together but I think a lot of people don't.

yt28 -- I'm a huge fan of Ethiopian food.  It was the main cuisine in my former neighborhoods in DC and Oakland, and I really miss having it frequently.  Too bad it isn't more available in NY.  I've been to a few places in Manhattan, but they didn't really measure up!  Any hidden favorites around here?

Haha don't know if it's off-topic (or should I create another thread? You decide)

I've lived in DC but that was before I went to Ethiopia - I went several times to Dukem and another restaurant starting with S two blocks away...but my Ethiopian sources tell me that Dukem is not very good and I should really try the one next to it. Sorry to be so vague - I haven't been to DC in a few years. They also told me that it is possible to get tere sega (pure raw meat, not marinated like kitfo or gored) in the back rooms - obviously this one will be kept secret because it breaks all health department regulations...and I'm not sure I want to eat the raw beef or goat grown in the States anyway.

Anyway the Ethiopian scene in NYC is pretty limited. I don't know about any hidden secrets! I think the consistently good one is Queen of Sheba. It's traditional, you can get tej with your semi-raw meat and macchiatos after the meal (very Ethiopian). My friends tell me that Awash in the UWS has Harar beer - sometimes QOS has it too (imported from Ethiopia - the Addis beer everywhere else is made in the States). Zoma's pretty good but upscale. I've been hearing good things (from chowhound - don't know if it's reliable) about the new Ghenet in Brooklyn - they seem to have some pretty unusual dishes like fish (assa), so one day I'll go try it out.

What are your faves?

And that's strange about the yellow curry - it's not that unusual. Sour and spicy literally describes almost all Thai food - tom yum soup is one that leaps straight to mind!

Meskerem is really bad - both of them. I haven't been to Ghenet, but I am somewhat wary of its Soho location. Queen of Sheba consistently does well; it's average compared to the food in Ethiopia but is probably the best in NYC. My one quibble with QOS is that its injera is not sour enough. I'm wondering if they're mixing in some flour.

Hmm this really makes me want to return to DC and do an Ethiopian restaurant crawl...What are your faves in DC?

Another place you might want to check out is Marcus Samuelsson's Merkato 55. He's Ethiopian (but raised in Sweden). There are a number of Ethiopian dishes on the menu, notably doro wot; and I think he uses the berbere seasoning in many other dishes too.

I've had the folks at Zabb warn me from dishes plenty of times - but never bat an eye when I insist that I know what I'm getting (even if I don't!) and order them anyway.  I'm thrilled that places like Zabb, Chao, and Sripriphai don't dumb down their flavors for non-Thais automatically.

The best things at Zabb are usually the "salads" (I use quotation marks because they're not what we think of as salads).  I've tried a few other things - noodles, entrees, curries, apps - and they've been fine, but not fantastic like all the salads are.

And, speaking of Ethiopian food, it's been almost a year since I've been there, but the best Ethiopian I've found in Manhattan is at Meskel in the E Village.  I'm getting ready for a trip to Ethiopia late summer, so yt28, I wonder if (not in this thread), you'd be willing to share any advice you have?