Just a quick post to mention that I was part of a group celebrating a friend’s birthday there this past Tuesday. Despite how close it is to my apartment, I hadn’t eaten there. It was possibly the best Ethiopian food I had had so far in Manhattan, probably better than my previous favorite, Zoma (though to be fair, I should try visiting Abyssinia, further up in Harlem, which a friend who used to live in Eritrea considers his favorite). Their injera was the sourest and most delicious I’ve ever had. We shared some appetizers and 4 big combos, and the food was all delicious and very savory, with excellent spiciness in the dishes that called for it. My only complaint, and it’s a slight one, is that their tej (mead/honey wine) was quite syrupy, though good, and I prefer the kind that’s like a crisp dry wine with just a bit of honey taste. It’s taking me days to lose back the 4 pounds I gained that day, but on a basis of deliciousness, I highly recommend Awash.
I have been there both in the past and recently, and I personally don’t care for their food as much as some of the other Ethiopian places in NYC. But I also have to say that I feel that over all the quality of Ethiopian has gone downhill the past 20 years.
Thanks for the review. Which dishes did you think were better (the sour injera would imply over-fermented to me)?
Have you been to Meskerem in the village?
I like Zoma, but more for the ambience than the food. For food, it’s always been Meskerem for me - the one in midtown west keeps getting shut down by the health department and reopening under a slightly different name (currently Meske), but the village one has stayed constant.
Agree with @mq7070 on overall quality and choice, I lament it every time I go to DC with its abundance of options.
The Meskerem branch that used to be at like 46th and 10th was my favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Manhattan before I started going to Zoma. I haven’t been to their restaurant on IIRC MacDougal St. I don’t think the injera was over-fermented. I’ll try to find the names of the components of the combos later.
I used to love the Meskerem on 47th St. I haven’t been since it first closed down. Didn’t even know it reopened and was now Meske.
I went to the Village Meskerem a few times but thought it wasn’t good.
I have been meaning to do a DC roadtrip the past year or two just to spend 2-3 days eating at the best Ethiopian places. In college we did that trip a few times with some Ethiopian friends. I’ll have to do it some time in the next few months, before I move out of the NYC area.
I remember having excellent Ethiopian food in D.C. I haven’t been to D.C. since 2000, though.
By the way, this restaurant’s website has no names of dishes on it, unless I missed something.
Yelp has menu pics.
