Who Needs An Excuse to Eat With Your Hands?
I certainly never do. But apparently I do need to get out of the house more often, as the discovery of the Ethiopian resturant KoKeBe (no, not KaDeWe) was a very happy revelation, despite it being in the same Hinterhof location for years.
If you’re jonesing for spicy lentils and mutton, and love to eat with your hands, this is the location to do it. Good, if not slightly German-inspired injera (was that not a hint of rye in the sour bread?), nice spices (especially in the beef- and mutton-centric dishes) and a gorgeous coriander chicken dish, the recipe for which may have to be dissected on these pages at some point–very unique and tasty (and I’m guessing not too hard to make at home).
However, if dinner as mostly saucy purees or the thought of dirty fingers makes you cringe, Ethiopian may not be for you — but that said, it’s a great treat for groups who don’t mind sharing one huge platter and digging in with hands. Prices range from 7 to 12 Euro; there’s also a decent cocktail menu (although we drank beer, as it seems to match the food better.) What’s more, very friendly service and the potential for garden dining (and since it’s in a Hinterhof, you’re off the street and can enjoy food without car exhaust…) seal the deal. Check it out.
And while we’re at it, anyone been to any other Hauptstadt Ethiopian joints? Now that I’ve broken my three-year fast, I’m ready to get my hands dirty again…
KoKeBe, Anklamerstr. 38, P’berg (near Zionkirchplatz)
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May 3rd, 2009 at 9:25 am
Excellent tip as always! I’ll be following your advice and dining here next week!! Thanks!
May 14th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Only tried it once, but had quite a good meal at Blue Nile on Tempelhofer Damm, about a block away from the Möckernbrücke U-Bahn station. We walked past it several times and it didn’t look like there was anyone in there. When we finally decided to brave it anyway, we found that all the action is in the back rooms, not visible when you peer in from the street. Food compared favorably to what we’d get in the large Ethopian community in Washington DC.
PS We have never been to a city that had an Ethiopian restaurant that WASN’T named “Blue Nile.” It saeems to be the ur-name for this genre…Google it and see!
May 19th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Other Ethopian joints? There used to be one in the Lychener Straße (not too far from the corner of the Danziger), it may still well be there; and right next to the U-Bahnhof Bülowstraße, in a side street which turns off opposite the record shop “Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free”, opposite a brothel/swinger bar, between the Bülowstraße and that church right next to Kurfürstenstraße U-Bahnhof, by Möbel-Hübner and the Arbeitsgericht.
I know I should just look on a map, but googlemaps isn’t working on this PC at the moment, and I can’t find a genuine map at the moment.
And: I’m sorry to say, I haven’t tried any of them (yet), though I have noticed KoKeBe and the one in Schöneberg on many occasions and made many a mental note to visit them in the near future. Perhaps this article will be the nudge I need…..
June 17th, 2009 at 7:00 am
And here’s how to cook Injera (plus video)