CitySearch.com
- By
Kerry McDonald
''...
The Scene
Burning incense, African music and fresh spices dance in the air, playing gently on the senses inside the unassuming dining room. It's all comfortably casual, from the hooded-sweater crowd to the service. Dinner is easy on the wallet and makes a great mid-week meal with friends. Make to sure ask for the check, or it might not arrive as desired.
The Food
Served family style, selected dollops arrive on a huge platter atop injera, a thin, spongy, sourdough pancake-like bread. With injera firmly in hand, simply reach and scoop what you can and toss it down the hatch. Most dishes are stew-like: tender lamb, chicken and beef come steeped in rich, smoky sauces, many with a spicy kick. Veggie dishes include lentils, collard greens and okra. The kifto (steak tartar) is soft, tender and tossed in mitmita (hot pepper powder) and the homemade cottage cheese is fresh and flavorful..." >>more
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Cheap Eats:
Queen Sheba - by Phuong Le
''He is Nigerian. She is Ethiopian. Together, Robert and Serkaddis Babs run the Queen Sheba Restaurant, which offers authentic Nigerian and Ethiopian food in its central Capitol Hill location.
The charming, friendly couple took over the former Zula Restaurant and have been sharing food from their cultures for one year now. Nigerian food is on the left of the menu.
Starters include the traditional pepper soup ($3.95), a concoction of red peppers, spinach, liver and meat in a thin broth. The chicken entree ($8.95) is served with egusi , a stewlike spicy red mixture of onions, tomato paste and spinach, and comes with tender chicken that easily falls from the bone. The stew is eaten by using your hands and scooping it with fufu , a starchy dough made from cassava or tropical yam.
From the right side of the menu, the Ethiopian vegetarian combination ($10.95) is very popular and the one most recommended. It's a family-style platter of mixed vegetables, potatoes, yellow split pea and spicy lentils. Bamia ($8.95) is another dish of sliced okra in a red spicy sauce.
Ethiopian entrees are eaten by tearing pieces of injera , a circular, spongy bread made from teff flour, and using it to scoop the vegetables, lamb, beef or chicken dishes into your mouth.
The Babs import Ethiopian beers and serve authentic West African palm juice..." >>more
Seattle Weekly
Dining Guide 2004: Capitol Hill
''...
If you think the Central District is the only place in town to find good, inexpensive Ethiopian, you're missing out. Counting as its neighbors a used-book emporium and a locksmith shop, Sheba is as hidden a gem as you'll find around Broadway. While the restaurants lining the main drag get all the attention, this intimate spot ladles out top-notch renditions of Ethiopian cuisine's most wanted, plus a few Nigerian specialties. The requisite vegetable platter is flavorful and generously portioned, while the chicken served with egusi (a meatless stew) falls off the bone with dreamlike ease. Combining the quality and affordability of the CD's Ethiopian dining district (known as "Little Addis Ababa") with a romantic ambience that's elusive at the austere eateries found there, Sheba is a winning prospect for fans of East African food looking to craft a cozy date night: Nothing beats hand-feeding your newfound crush before catching a show on the Hill. N.S..." >>more
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