Ethiopia is a country with a strong focus on community. This communal spirit is reflected in the manner in which ethiopians traditionally eat. Dining in Ethiopia is characterized by the ritual of sharing food from a common plate, signifying the bonds of loyalty and friendship. The ethiopian tradition follows their saying: "those who eat from the same plate will not betray each other".
The traditional way of eating is with fingers.
Instead of actual utensils, ethiopians use injera (a delicious sourdough ethiopian flat bread) as a substitution for a fork or a spoon.
Injera is placed on the plate with variety of dishes decoratively arranged around it.
Eating like an ethiopian requires you to tear off a piece of injera, cover the morsel you desire, and scoop it into your mouth in one graceful swoop.
During an ethiopian meal with friends, a person may strip off a piece of injera, roll it in the sauce, and then put the rolled injera into a friend's mouth. This is called a " gursha" and this is to show respect. The larger the gursha, the stronger the respect. Sometimes the person receiving the gursha responds in kind and in turn feeds his feeder. Often gurshas are much larger than the regular scoop due to tradition, so you might find your mouth full from front to back.

In keeping with ethiopian tradition, Mesob serves its food on a platter with injera as opposed to providing individual plates for each guest (plates and utensils are available upon request).

All of our foods are prepared daily with imported ethiopian spices. Even the injera is made following the ethiopian tradition.

Appetizers

SAMBUSA spicy & FELAFEL
Sambusa: two thin shells hand-wrapped and stuffed with a blend of minced beef (or shrimps or lentils or cheese) herbs and spices
Felafel: a patty made from ground chickpeas mixed with herbs and spices

KATEGNA
Warm rolled injera coated with berbere (ethiopian seasoning prepared from red chili peppers and other spices) and nitr kibe (clarified butter with spices)

KATEGNA WITH AYIB
Warm rolled injera coated with berbere, nitr kibe and ayib (special cottage cheese)

Entrées

All entrées are served on injera with a combination of vegetarian dishes

Beef

YE KAY WOT (ZIGHINI) spicy
Lean, chopped beef slowly simmered with berbere, ginger, onions and garlic

YE ALITCHA WOT
Lean, chopped beef slowly simmered in a mild and flavorful herbs sauce (garlic, onions, ginger and saffron)

KAY TIBS (RED SPRISS) spicy
Lean, cubed beef sautéed in homemade awaze (hot red chili paste) and seasoned with garlic, onions, green jalapeno peppers

NECE TIBS (WHITE SPRISS)
Lean, cubed beef sautéed in garlic, onions and green jalapeno peppers

YE FIM TIBS
Lean, cubed beef cooked on traditional charcoal stove and seasoned with onions and green jalapeno peppers

GORED GORED
Cubed, raw prime beef meat seasoned with warm nitr kibe and homemade awaze

KITFO
Finely hand-chopped (tartar) prime beef seasoned with nitr kibe and mitmita (red chili powder mixed with spices)

DULET
Chopped meat and tripe seasoned with herbs and spices

GOMEN BESIGA
Lean, cubed beef slow-cooked and blended with kale and herbs

Poultry

DORO WOT spicy (served with hard-boiled egg)
Tender chicken simmered in berbere sauce and seasoned with nitr kibe, onions, garlic and ginger

DORO TIBS
Cubed chicken sautéed with garlic, onions and green jalapeno peppers

Vegetarian combination platter

SHIRO spicy
Finely ground split chickpeas simmered in berbere and a combination of seasonings

MISIR WOT spicy
Red split lentils simmered in spicy berbere sauce

ATER KIK
Yellow split peas simmered in a mild and flavorful onions, garlic, ginger and saffron sauce

GOMEN WOT
Cabbage, potatoes and carrots stewed with spices and saffron

GOMEN
Kale slow-cooked in a mild herbs sauce

AZIFAH
Whole brown lentils salad seasoned with diced onions, garlic, green jalapeno peppers, mustard, olive oil and fresh lemon juice (served cold)

Desserts

BAKLAVA
Sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup

TAHNIA
Sesame paste (tahini) with sugar and filled with chopped pistachios

Mesob

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