Steph, Andy and I headed down Poplar street in search of Ethiopian food. I had never had Ethiopian food before and neither had Andy, so Steph acted as tour guide through the experience once we finally got to "The Era" around 28th and Poplar.

Here she is with her lovely vegetarian dish. The menu, which I should have taken a picture of, but didn't, was a bit confusing. Each entree was given a number 1 - 9. I had the number 4, not spicy. Andy had the number 8, spicy and Stephanie wanted the number 9 which was a potato dish. Unfortunately there were two number nines on the menu, one potato, one lentils. She ordered the first number nine, but was brought the second. I was brought the correct meat with the wrong spice level, mine was bright red and hot! Poor Andy who wanted to hotness got the mild version.

We consoled ourselves with beers. The food also took an enormously long time to get to us. Around 45 minutes, which wouldn't have been bad in a crowded restaurant in old City on Saturday, but this was Fairmont Park on a Wednesday night and we were the only people in the restaurant! Here is Andy's lamb dish with green beans.

Again, to the pass the time, we watched Andy develop the biggest granny ash ever while using his cigarette holder.

This is my beautiful, but really spicy, dinner of beef with greens and salad. The bread they give you under the food is really amazing. No utensils are offered, you simply tear some bread and load it up with a combination of things from your plate and chow down. I liked the eating with my hands part, but I wish they'd provided a wet nap so I could have cleaned myself up better.

Here is a close up of the bread. You can see the little holes in it if you look closely, this gave the bread a sort of elastic and spongy texture that really worked with the food, because the sauce from the meat and the juices from the veggies really soaked in and flavored the whole thing.

So, The Era was interesting, I enjoyed the Ethiopian food, it's a cross between Indian and Moroccan I think, it's hard to explain really, but give it a try if you've never had it.