Mass. Ave. restaurant is a refreshing change of pace in area food scene
By Angel Feliciano, News Correspondent
A lot of people may be familiar with many cuisines such as Italian, French and Japanese. Ethiopian, however, is a whole different story. For students looking for something a little different, Lucy Ethiopian Cafe is just down the street at 334 Massachusetts Ave. between Huntington Avenue and St. Botolph Street.
I walked into the restaurant and was seated right away. The ambiance of the room had such a lively atmosphere – the café was playing what could only be Ethiopian dance music, the upper half of the room was painted bright orange and the bottom half was white. On the orange walls were frames of tribal sketches and drawings.
In one of the frames, a man and a woman were side by side dancing together wearing what looked like traditional African garb; the woman is wearing a woven skirt with tribal patterns and the man is wearing an oversized shirt with an elaborate motif. Some paintings and sketches were illustrations of men and women’s facial expressions. Next to the picture frames are the names of the artwork piece and the price of each, as the restaurant is selling these pieces.
The dining tables and chairs surround the centerpiece of the restaurant. The middle of the room features a small wooden table and six wooden chairs covered in zebra skin. I thought that was such a great addition to the room, a nice allusion to Ethiopian culture.
Everything on the menu was authentic and traditional Ethiopian fare. The meals that get served do not come with silverware. Appetizers consisted of many different dips which are served with a five-piece Injera. Injera is described in the menu as “a pancake-like bread made from fermented teff, wheat and white flour.” Most appetizers are spicy, like the Ayib Be-Spinach ($5.99), which consists of “spinach simmered with spice and herbs, mixed with cottage cheese and mitmita, an Ethipoian cayenne blend.”
The entree I ordered was a specialty of Ethiopia, the Lega Tibs ($10.95). This beef specialty is made of lean beef chunks sauteed in oil and seasoned with onion and green pepper, so it was a little bit spicy. Jalapeno, tomato, garlic and rosemary were cooked in my Lega Tibs. Surprisingly, I liked it. It is unusual for me to like spicy food, but when I wrapped the lean beef chunks under the Injera which is what the waitress told me to do, it helped balance the spiciness that my dish had.
I would normally just order water, but one of the specialty drinks on the menu sounded enticing: peanut tea ($3.50), a “special house recipe” with milk, honey and peanut. The waitress strongly recommended it to me, saying it was very popular and can be served for dessert as well.
As soon as she served it to me and I had my first sip, I was in heaven. It was mildly sweet because of the peanut and honey but wasn’t too thick or frothy either. Peanut tea can be a healthy alternative to hot chocolate. It’s a perfect drink to sip, especially in cold weather. If you love peanut butter, this is a must.
Lucy also serves vegetarian entrees to cater for people who don’t eat meat, or fancy a dish that is light, such as the Green Combo ($8.99) which has spinach, simmered in mild sauce seasoned with spice and herbs, gomen (fresh collard greens in mild sauce with spice and herbs) and Ethiopian-style potatoes salad with parsley, black pepper and a house dressing.
All dishes are big enough for two people, so I got the rest of my meal to go and shared it with my roommate. The next day when I woke up, our room smelled like Lega Tibs. I opened our Microfridge to no sight of the takeout box.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this restaurant for anyone who wants to eat a dish that is rarely served at dining halls and wants to experience something exotic. So go ahead, take a sojourn at this authentic restaurant (it’s only a two minute walk from the heart of campus) and send your taste buds for a trip. I did – and it was worth it.
