If you are ever in the DC area, I can show you an Eritrean place that is my latest obsession.
I actively dislike injera, and feel absolutely ZERO shame about it. The real shame is that the stuff on top is mighty tasty, but I can’t remember the last time my PIC could convince me to go for Ethiopian. He loves it.
Is Somtum Der still good? I went there well over a decade ago and loved it, but things can change, obviously.
It was a short stint living in DC a long time ago that propelled my desire to learn to like Ethiopian food! It was all the rage amongst my peer group (young and poor.) That said, my tastes have expanded quite a lot since… 1993 
Do tell!
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For me its the injera - I really dislike it which ruins the experience; the flavors of the stews and veg in the few Ethiopian meals I have had have beenpretty good.
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Injera can take a bit of getting used to. But its flavor is designed to be meld with the stews and vegs’ flavors.
Here is my Aurora Cafe thread. Short version: Qlwa with beef, add the spinach. Ga’at. Foul. I swear next time I go I will branch out.
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I guess I had no idea how polarizing Ethiopian food and specifically injera was!
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Same. I love injera.
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I really like Ethiopian samosas/ sambusas.
I realize there is a lot more to Ethiopian food than platters with injera.
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I don’t think I’ve ever been to an Ethiopian restaurant in America when the food wasn’t served on a huge platter of injera. I used to tell people that Ethiopian food (which I love) visually resembles scoops of dog food on top of a huge dirty dish sponge.
But my wife and I recently had dinner at the home of an Ethiopian-American friend and she served the injera in rolls on the side.
I’m very sure I’ve never seen an Ethiopian meal without injera (except when we’ve cooked Ethiopian dishes at home).
When we went on vacation in Ethiopia we did see restaurants that served the injera on the side. We also ate in two places in Addis Ababa where alongside the injera they also offered a big stack of Western-style white bread as an option. That’s definitely something I’ve never seen in America.
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Thankfully it is possible to just eat the top stuff, sans the injera.
And I love your description of it.
Tangentially related (sorry thread drift purists), I used to eat lunch in NY’s Manhattan Chinatown pretty regularly and it was not unusual to see local blue collar men at tables with big stacks of white bread next to their rice bowls.
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At Aurora Cafe, which is Eritrean, you can ask for bread instead of injera. Same thing for Keren in DC.
It will be a warm crusty roll.
The long gone Queen Makeda used to serve it in bowls.
And of course you can ask for it to be served that way anywhere.
I don’t understand why a dislike for injera would stop anyone from otherwise enjoying the food. Just ask for it to be served however you want it. And with a fork.
Not all injera has a sour taste, which is one thing that might be off putting for some.
Here is a picture of the Shekla Tibs I just had at Meda Coffee and Kitchen in Arlington:
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