We visited Ethiopia, sort of. And it’s a tasty place.

This is part of our Eat The World challenge. Check out the whole thing.

We sat down at Aberus, and it was a tiny bit like visiting an actual foreign country. pretty clear we were the outsiders. We were the only white people there, and we’re pretty sure the only ones speaking English. We had no idea there was such a big Ethiopian community in Portland, and its epicenter is literally almost in our backyard!

And while yes, there is a dinner plate under all that food, the brown thing is actually a sheet of thin bread, and so are the rolled-up things on the other plate. This is injera, and it is your primary utensil; you tear off a piece of bread, make a little taco, grab some other food with it, and stuff it in your mouth before it can get all over the place. Once most of the stuff has been eaten, you tear up the bread on the bottom and eat it, too, because all the sauces have soaked into it, and it’s the best part.

This was delicious. The people were friendly and helpful when we were confused on how to eat our food, and even though we couldn’t understand the chatter of the other patrons, the feeling we left with was warm, comfortable, and happy.