la.foodblogging

In a suddenly adventurous mood, my parents asked me to find a cuisine that they normally don’t eat. Having eaten most if not all of the types of cuisine LA has to offer, I needed to think of something that we may have eaten, but haven’t sampled in a while. I immediately thought of Ethiopian, which we haven’t tried since I was in St. Louis for college. It provides the uniqueness of using no utensils and also provides a distinct taste that one doesn’t find in other cuisines.

After looking on Chowhound, I found that Meals by Genet had the most avid support. Located in Little Ethiopia on the 1000 block of Fairfax, I must say that the recommendation was well deserved.

Parking was a little difficult since the options are limited to either street parking or the small lot behind the restaurant. However, since it was the day after Thanksgiving, we didn’t encounter any difficulties.

When first looking at the menu, I saw that the number of Ethiopian items were very limited. There was a steak tartar dish, a chicken stew, a lamb stew, a beef stew, a vegetarian choice, and finally a tofu stew. The rest of the menu consisted of pasta and some curry dishes. Rather than be turned off by this limitation, I found myself anticipating the meal even more. By limiting the dishes, Genet is stating that whatever she makes are her specialities.

Since we had a large party, we had an order of everything except the tofu. For those unfamiliar with Ethiopian food, you don’t use utensils and are given injera, which is a spongy flat bread with a hint of lemon flavor. You are supposed to scoop up the food with a piece of injera and eat it as is.

Each person got a plate of injera and our dishes came on a large plate lined with more injera. What was most intriguing was the lamb stew, which was wrapped in injera itself. It was delicately flavord such that the lamb wasn’t overpowered yet one could still detect the subtle spices used in the cooking. The best part was also eating the injera that had become infused with the lamb stew.

The chicken and beef were also great dishes. I preferred the chicken because it went better with the spices used to cook it as well as the injera. The vegatable dish was very interesting. It consisted of many different types of vegetables. Many were bean or lentil based and each had its own unique taste. It ranged from spicy to sweet to sour. I found this variety really enhanced my experience.

The most intriguing dish had to be the steak tartar. It came as a bowl of nothing but buttery raw ground beef. Having never eaten raw ground beef, I didn’t know what to expect. To my surprise, the beef tasted somewhat sweet and very soft. The butter and spice hid the typical beef taste and combining it with the injera was perfect. We ordered our tartar with mild spice but I think that it would have been better to get it medium or even hot.

Overall, it was a great meal. The lack of utensils made for a controlled messy meal as well as a communal one since the food is placed in the middle for everyone to grab at. The service was great and the food exceeded my expectations. Drinks were reasonable, usually 3-4 dollars for a glass of wine or beer. The best was trying an Ethiopian honey wine. So if you’re in the mood for something different, head to Little Ethiopia and find Meals by Genet.

Meals by Genet
1053 S. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
Closed M,Tu; W-F 5:30-10pm; S-Su 11:30am-10pm

By Jeff (see more of his posts).