Cafe Abyssinia
3511 Magazine St
New Orleans, LA

ambiance

I had heard about this restaurant through word of mouth and wanted to check it out. The friend I heard it from is a foodie herself and anytime she makes a suggestion, I make a mental note! Thanks Jane Y! There wasn’t much info about this place online but I thought, what the heck and headed out. It was a little tough to find this place because it’s not directly on Magazine st., its driveway is on Magazine st. and then you walk behind all the other buildings and find this little nook.

vegetable sambusa

I thought the decor was quaint, with seats that came up to knee height and these authentic (Not sure) tables. I read the sign saying open Tuesday to Sunday  from noon to 9:30 PM. Im glad I came in on that Friday instead of my original plan of Monday (I don’t understand why restaurants and hair salons feel the need to take a day off on Monday when the rest of us are working….just sayin). The waiter was very friendly at greeting us at the door, but for the rest of the night, service was on the slow side even with 2 waiters for 3 tables….My friend and I split the veggie platter which came out with a bunch of different components. the vegetable sambusa was crunchy on the outside and a little oily on the inside.

veggie combo

The veggie combo came with:
1. Yemisr Wot: red lentils with onion in a homemade spicy sauce. this was by far my favorite. it was bursting with flavor from all the rich spices! soooo good. it had a nice kick to it.
2. Kik Alicha: split peas cooked in a mild sauce of onion, garlic, ginger
3. Tikel Gomen: sliced cabbage and carrots cooked in a mild sauce. i liked that the carrots sweetened this up.
4. Dinich Alicha: potato and carrots in curry sauce.

Yemisr Wot

spongy bread

Sorry, I don’t know what the correct term for this is, I just called it spongy bread all night. It had a bit of a tang to it, can’t really describe (as clearly evident by this non-descriptive sentence).  It’s not too often that I get to eat out with my hands, so this was a fun experience.

Filed under: African, New Orleans, LA Tagged: cafe abyssinia, magazine st, middle eastern, New Orleans, pic, restaurant, review

Read the original on: The Foodographer