Zeni. San Jose CA 7.22.10

I would have to say that this is my first Ethiopian experience and only knew about from tripadvisor.com. I was very skeptical to come here, but luckily my sister had been to Ethiopian places before and told me the flavors are distinguished but not so much to where they are considered acquired tastes. Also, good thing about having her there was she told what to expect so I could go there with an open mind. How it works is that we were given bread that more so look and taste like sourdough pancakes, which is quite good. Then our entrees are placed onto a communal plate. We rip off piece bread, grab the meat with it, and then eat with our hands. The names of the dishes are also very cultural.

One of our entrees is called zilzil tibs, which is not far out, its beefsteak cooked in butter along with grilled onions and green peppers. But really you can’t go wrong when you cook something in butter. The meat was seasoned well and I just couldn’t keep away from those onions. The second dish we ordered was scrambled eggs and ground beef, which translates to scrambled eggs and meat. It was really nothing out of the ordinary either, pretty much tasted like breakfast food. The entrée was good but I felt like I could have gotten that at any breakfast joint. Our last entrée is more true to Ethiopian flavors, called Kei Wot. Similar to beef stew, the main flavor that shows through is turmeric, which is a little sweet with a hint of curry and weird as it sounds, it is highly addicting. It is served with a very mild cheese which doesn't taste like much when eaten by itself, but really enhances the dish when eaten with the meat. I’m glad I had this opportunity and frankly I wish SoCal had more Ethiopian populations so I could eat Ethiopian food more often. I don’t think I’ll be so open minded to where I could eat like Anthony Bourdain and consume anything crazy bull testicles or horse spinal cord, but I hope I can be open minded enough to try something unfamiliar like Zeni.