Kaey Wot at Langano Skies

Ethiopian food for supper. #yegfashion

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Apr 22, 2017 at 5:50pm PDT

I love Ethiopian food, even if the spices can sometimes be a bit much for me, so I was delighted to finally try Langano Skies. It's conveniently located next to one of my favourite bars, so after the music was over, this was the supper destination. I ordered something that seemed basic - Kaey Wot, which is tender beef in a spicy sauce, and I opted for brown rice instead of the injera. We also took advantage of an appetizer special, and had the lentil sambusas (which are like samosas, but with a lighter outer shell). Those had a definite "wow factor." I could probably make a meal out of some of the appetizers. The food was incredible, but I will definitely take the spice level into consideration next time and ask the server's advice about something milder. Which should be no problem, because the service here was excellent.

Vegan Buffet at Abyssinia

I was on 95 Street for an evening meeting last week and noticed that Abyssinia, an Ethiopian restaurant practically next door to my meeting, had a vegan buffet on Wednesdays and Fridays for only $15 starting at 5 p.m. As it was a Wednesday, I decided to give it a shot. Eight hot trays featured dishes including yellow chick peas, red lentils, kale, spinach, mushrooms, cabbage, squash, and carrots and potatoes. There was also a heaping plate of injera bread, and a bowl of rice. The dishes were spicy but not overwhelming, and a few could have been hotter in terms of temperature (but on the other hand, that also kept the spice heat level down). My personal faves are the carrots and potatoes, the yellow chick peas, and the squash, the latter having a sweetness that cut the spice. I would recommend going a little later than 5, as a few of the dishes as well as the rice were not available yet, and I was already full by the time they were out. For $15 this is an excellent value and a great introduction to Ethiopian food.