Harar

A couple of days ago, a friend and I ate at Harar, (refer to last year's post for photos on the interior - it still looks exactly the same). We had just gone to the Chula Vista Farmer's market and had sambussas from the East African food booth 'Red'. I hadn't been to Harar in a year so with sambussas in mind, we ventured off to El Cajon Blvd between Texas and Arizona to Harar. It's pretty easy to miss but we were able to get parking right in front.

Harar also has a dinner buffet on Friday nights for $12 (an older Union Trib article from 3 years ago had it at $10 - inflation, folks). But hey, we were here for lunch. We got there around 12 noon and only one person was in the restaurant. Actually there were more people in the back patio but we didn't see the at first. The cook/owner greeted us immediately and we sat at a table by the wall dividing the kitchen and dining area. The cook could see out because the wall doesn't go all the way up (the kitchen window is on the right hand side facing the door).

For appetizers, we had the ketegna (the cook pronounced it as 'kuh- tayn-yuh') which is toasted injera with butter and spices ($1.50). I don't know what spices they used, but it was reddish orange and very very hot! (I looked upEthiopian cuisine in Wikipedia and found that common spices used in this cuisine include: fenugreek, cumin, coriander, saffron, mustard and cardamom).

Another appetizer we tried were the beef and lentil sambussas ($1.50 each):

The pastry crust was thin and flaky. These were just fresh out of the frying pan - still hot and crispy! Although I'm not much of a lentil (or any type of bean) fan, the lentils provided a creaminess to the lightly spiced beef filling.

Our food came on a huge platter with a large round of injera. My friend ordered the yebbo sega wot - strips of beef seasoned with red pepper, garlic and spices ($6.99). Unfortunately, my first choice, the yegom wot (collard greens with ginger and garlic) wasn't available yet. So I ended up choosing another vegetarian entree, (I forgot the name) for $5.99. It consisted of cabbage and potatoes in a saucy mixture (pictured below, lower right). The carrots, beans and peas were shared by both of us, as was the lightly dressed salad.

Our basket of injera: If you don't like getting your fingers dirty, then Ethiopian food is not for you. You have to pick up your food with your hands. You take the strips of injera and use it to pick up your vegetables and/or meat. We got full after a few bites. Also, it is traditional to only use your right hand to eat because the left hand is considered 'unclean' (the 'buttwiping' hand). I'm left handed so I broke with 'tradition', but I don't think they cared too much over there.

Before we left, there was a group of friendly young children (who came later) who said goodbye to us. They may have been children of the worker(s) there. As we got into my friend's truck, a beautiful young Ethiopian girl was walking in and asked us if we enjoyed our food; she smiled when we told her that we liked our lunch there. Before heading home, we went took took University to Washington to get to Gelato Vero on India Street (so I could use my coupon!).

I had the gianduja (hazelnut) with the dark chocolate:

My friend had the mango sorbetto with the gianduja. She wanted to get something sweet with the chocolate hazelnut. I think the gelato at Pappalecco was a lot better, but this place was still very good! It's been my go-to place for gelato since college. We both agreed that the gelato at Melt in Otay Ranch Town Center (aka the Otay Ranch Mall) was inferior compared to this. Mint's gelato tasted 'thin' if you could call it that - it lacked the creaminess and flavor that we experienced here.

Gelato Vero is right next to Saffron Noodles and Saffron Chicken (2 side by side Thai places). We thought the misspelling was amusing ('cocnut'). The book to which they refer, "Cracking the Coconut" is by restaurant owner, Su Mei Yu. I think we just may go here next time to try this shrimp special - when we passed by, the aromas that emanated from this place were delicious!

We also wanted to check out this little shop. It was the second time for me (I had gone a couple of weeks earlier with my daughter). Turns out they serve an authentic English tea for $17.95 so we are definitely coming back for that. There is a flight of steps next to this sign and patio seating for the various shops and restaurants on the hill overlooking India Street.

I ended up buying a couple of items, the chocolate hazel nut flake bar and a canned chocolate pudding. They also had Spotted Dick, but it cost nearly $6 or 7 for just a small can. Uhhh, maybe not. But for the name alone!!!! Hmmm...

Speaking of British things, British company Tesco plans to open Fresh & Easy Market (here's another link) in San Diego. In fact, there is a sign announcing that one will be near us, a on Tierra Del Rey and H Street. I believe the site will be next to KMart (of all places) - where the Good Guys used to be. I checked out their website and it looks promising. It's closer than Henry's and Trader Joe's and we don't have a Whole Foods down in Chula Vista, although a Bristol Farms is scheduled to open at the Otay Ranch Town Center this fall. I'm interested in this new Fresh & Easy place and hope they live up to their image - they're supposed to be affordable as well. We'll see and I'll keep you posted.