Restaurant # 2 (Mama Desta's Red Sea) and Beers # 1 (Castle Lager) and # 2 (Windhoek Lager)

I can not tell a lie. The mysterious and not entirely pleasant smell that greeted us upon entering Mama Desta's Red Sea restaurant concerned me. However, in the past Susan has been easily discouraged from eating Ethiopian food, so I kept my mouth shut and was very glad I had when the food arrived. The real highlights of our sampler platter were the mushrooms, split peas, and lamb, but everything was good (with the possible exception of the spinach, which we had not ordered but simply arrived on our extremely attractive shared platter.) We each tried an African beer - Castle Lager from South Africa for me, Windhoek Lager from Namibia for Susan. They were nearly indistinguishable, but happily also good. We'll definitely be returning to this distinctive neighborhood eatery!