Cafe Eritrea D'afrique - 4069 Telegraph Avenue

This place is currently holding the title as "Best Find" in our project thus far.

I'd wanted to try this place for a long time. The Partner in Chow wasn't so convinced that she'd like it - we weren't sure if this was Ethiopian food or more West African-style food, and she was still mourning the loss of Blue Nile.

From what we can gather, Ethiopia and Eritrea have similar/idential cuisine - or at least this place would indicate such.

We walked in to find a bunch of Ethiopian or Eritrean men at the bar hanging out. We took this as a good sign.

OK, the bad first: the atmo is lacking, it's true. Tile floors, uninspired takeout-type tables and chairs, and awful lighting. I'm someone very sensitive to lighting - fluorescent lighting in particular - so it's something worth noting.

However: the decor was made up for by our super nice waitress, the menu giving the heartfelt and compelling story of the restaurant (look up "The American Dream" and you pretty much have it), and the food.

Oh, the food. Such good Ethiopian food. Or Eritrean food. Whatever you want to call it, the food is fantastic and it's cheap. The menu warns you that the food is addictive, and we agree. We've already been back twice!

What we ordered (on all 3 trips): Vegetarian platter (for 1 feeds 2 people with a side; for 2 feeds 3), a side of the fava bean thing (it has feta on it)
Service: friendly and eager to answer questions, if not rushed in any way (even when you might be a little rushed)
Atmo: uninspired local Mom 'n Pop
Crowd: Ethiopians/Eritreans and local folks in-the-know
Spent: around $20.00
Overall rating: 4.5 sporks

We'd consider giving this place a 5 if it wasn't for the sterile atmo. But we haven't found better Ethiopian food elsewhere. Asmara wins on decor, but the food here is better.

Lam-Toro - 2432 Telegraph Ave - 10.4.07

We were really intrigued when we realized that our next stop was a new West African restaurant on Telegraph.

My intrigue partially stemmed from the fact that I for some reason thought this was a sushi place. But when we walked in and saw a massive party of African folks (in full regalia - it was a birthday celebration) and the groovy dreadlocked waiter and realized that African music was playing, my uncanny grasp of the obvious led me to realize that Lam-Toro was not Japanese for Something-Fatty Tuna...

So, in we went to experience this new Telegraph haunt. I hear that it's recently been besieged by neighborhood hipsters who go in to drink and hang out after 10 or so, but the Mama Buzz crowd doesn't bother me. I have a Hulk Hogan t-shirt and Vans and I'm not afraid to wear either. (Both are recommended if you actually want service at Mama Buzz...)

But this isn't a Mama Buzz review, because it's not open for dinner (we tried) and we therefore skipped it. We may go back at some point and review it for breakfast (we've eaten there before). I will digress further to note that $10 punk rock haircut night on the first Sunday of the month at Mama Buzz kept me in cheap haircuts for several months, but I'm not sure if they're still doing that - it's under new ownership.

Anyway, back to Lam-Toro.

What we ordered: Roasted chicken with couscous, Lamb with rice, groovy ginger drinks (non-alcoholic)
Service: amazingly friendly and relaxed - our waiter was fantastic
Atmo: festive, fun and really loud (due to the aforementioned African b-day celebration)
Crowd: local African natives and their friends
Spent: $40.00
Overall rating: 3.5 sporks (an extra half spork for service and Atmo)

The best thing about this place may be the service. Our waiter was super nice, explained everything and genuinely wanted us to enjoy ourselves. He apologized for the noise level of the party (this place is small), but we liked the party and had fun watching them dance around the restaurant and clap/sing.

He also told us that our next visit was on the house, because we ordered a special that had been exhausted by the party. We didn't have the heart to tell him that we're working our way down Telegraph and that it may be a damn long time before we return...

The food was interesting, but the meat was a bit dry. The lamb in particular was really dry, and not being familiar with African food we're not sure if this is an African preparation or whether it was just overcooked. We'll probably become more familiar with African food as we work our way down Telegraph.

The chicken was a big hunk o'chicken with bones and all, and somehow this roasted chicken tasted - I swear - like KFC. I suppose it was something about the spice rub, but this chicken was legitimately good and the KFC hints (without all the fat) made it that much better. I'd eat this chicken again; we wouldn't however eat the lamb again.

Like Off the Hook, the food tasted and looked like someone's native grandmother was in the back making dinner for friends. I like this kind of "real" food, so we enjoyed that aspect of the meal.

Though the food wasn't spectacular we really enjoyed ourselves at Lam-Toro. We'd probably go back for a drink and to try a special. As soon as my Hulk Hogan T is out of the wash...