Cheap Eats 2012: Meaza

Meaza Zemedu has claimed that her restaurant—which includes a butcher shop, grocery, and banquet room in addition to a multi-tiered dining room—is the largest Ethiopian restaurant in the country. We can’t verify that, but we can attest to the depth of her sauces and the complexity of her spicing.

Zemedu’s doro wat is a reminder of why, in Ethiopia, the dish is reserved for holidays and special occasions—its intense, brick-colored gravy unfolds its secrets slowly—while her kitfo, a beef tartare, employs cardamom, berbere, and caraway seeds to thrilling effect. Among vegetable dishes, the “special vegi combo platter” is a must, especially for groups, offering as many as eight different stews, including a creamy, ginger-stoked rendition of the yellow-lentil porridge kik alicha and vivid versions of misir wat, a lentil stew, and shiro, a smooth dip made from powdered peas.

Also good: Lentil sambusas; beef tibs; awaze lamb tibs; gomen (collard greens); azifa (lentil salad).