Meskerem Ethiopian Cuisine
Your totally uninformed restaurant reviewers! We go where you're afraid to!
By Dan Blanco, djb350, and Jamie Hallman, jdh317
Issue date: 4/12/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Interested in taking a weird foray into an unknown realm of "culinary" delights... and getting to know your dining partner really, really well? Just blocks away from Stern is Meskerem, an underground escape from New York where you get to eat with your hands, sit on your neighbors' laps in the cramped quarters, and eat unrecognizable foods. Meskerem offers reasonably prices Ethiopian foods - the best (and only) we've dared to try in our admittedly limited search of NYC. If you get there Friday night at 8:30 (like we did) be prepared to wait a bit at the bar. We were hoping to try honey wine but of course they were out (which is the equivalent of Sosnoff running out of overpriced sandwiches) so we opted for some house red instead.
To start we ordered some samosa-like appetizers. The name escapes us since we were too hungry by that point to pay attention. Then we shared the veggie platter - consisting of a selection of different colored mixtures served on crumpet-like, somewhat tart, flat bread. It turns out that everyone sitting near us ordered the exact same foods leading us to surmise that no matter what you order, you get the same results. Anyway, we ordered a double-order and it was more than enough. Keep in mind, the bread is your utensil so you end up eating way more than you think you are; the flat-bread doesn't stay so flat when it hits your stomach like a ton of bricks. The sauces, which we named "the split pea soup," the "cabbage-y," the "green bean," and the "red sauce that Dan likes and Jamie does not," were actually quite good and reminded us a bit of Indian food.
All in all, Meskerem was a fun time. Cheap. Unique. Homey. Fun (if you sometimes reminisce about eating with your hands). Probably a good date place, if your date's adventurous. And it won't leave you looking for a midnight (or early morning, or brunch, or midday) snack.
To start we ordered some samosa-like appetizers. The name escapes us since we were too hungry by that point to pay attention. Then we shared the veggie platter - consisting of a selection of different colored mixtures served on crumpet-like, somewhat tart, flat bread. It turns out that everyone sitting near us ordered the exact same foods leading us to surmise that no matter what you order, you get the same results. Anyway, we ordered a double-order and it was more than enough. Keep in mind, the bread is your utensil so you end up eating way more than you think you are; the flat-bread doesn't stay so flat when it hits your stomach like a ton of bricks. The sauces, which we named "the split pea soup," the "cabbage-y," the "green bean," and the "red sauce that Dan likes and Jamie does not," were actually quite good and reminded us a bit of Indian food.
All in all, Meskerem was a fun time. Cheap. Unique. Homey. Fun (if you sometimes reminisce about eating with your hands). Probably a good date place, if your date's adventurous. And it won't leave you looking for a midnight (or early morning, or brunch, or midday) snack.