Ethiopian buffet

Harar Ethiopian Restaurant
(619) 295-3735
http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/california/harar.html
2432 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104


I know, I know...Ethiopian buffet? But aren't people in Ethiopia starving? For some reason, Ethiopian restaurants in San Diego seem to commonly have buffets at least once a week. If you've never had Ethiopian food before, the only thing I can liken it to is Southern comfort food. Most of it slow cooked and buttery. My favorite dishes at this particular buffet are the eggplant dish and the greens dish (I can't remember if they're collards or another type of green).

The buffet runs about $12 and is available Friday evenings (I think between 6pm and 11pm). The trouble with being a vegetarian at this buffet is that nothing is labeled and since everything is slow cooked to the point of mush (very tasty mush) it's sometimes difficult to tell if a dish is meat or not. The waitstaff is very friendly and helpful and their English is very good so don't be afraid to ask. They consistently have the same dishes every time I've gone so you only have to learn the dishes once. Generally they lay out the veggie dishes on the left and the rightmost dishes have meat in them.

The trademark of Ethiopian food is the Injera. It's a type of spongy flatbread that you use to "pinch" the stewed dishes with. You scoop or pinch a bit of stewed veggies in the injera and then eat it. This way you don't have any utensils. It's very communal feeling. Many Ethopian restaurants in town will serve large platters that combine 2 or 3 people's orders (and don't worry they usually leave enough space between the dishes that the meat doesn't touch the veggies). The idea is to share among your friends. I happen to like the format, but it's not for everyone (especially anyone who has something against eating with their hands).

Another good Ethiopian restaurant further down University Ave. is the Red Sea. Both Harar and Red Sea are pretty small, family run, very cozy and friendly places.