Doro wat from Demera

Monday, April 2, 2012 - 04:45

Netsanet Alemayehu

Gets her spices directly from Ethiopia for Sheba Lounge.

Healthy Soul Choices. Spices are becoming more important to cooking as nutritionists advise reducing sodium. An especially rich source of spices is Ethiopian cuisine, which has become ubiquitous throughout the United States. Netsanset Alimayehu, owner of Sheba Piano Lounge, 1419 Fillmore St. in San Francisco, regularly travels to Ethiopia to pick up spices directly from her home area.

Delicacies of the Day. Dukem Restaurant, just across from Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street in Washington, D.C., has developed its own global following. There is also a Dukem store next door at 1114 U Street where one can buy those Ethiopian spices and the teas the East African nation is famous for. Another Dukem restaurant is in Baltimore at 1100 Maryland Ave.

For doro wat in Chicago, visit Demera Ethiopian Restaurant, 4801 N. Broadway, where they also roast their own Ethiopian coffee.

Fairfax Street in Los Angeles has become known as Little Ethiopia because of the restaurants and other businesses. Messob, 1041 S. Fairfax, has anchored that district since 1985.

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