Awash (338 E. 6th St.)

It was a buddy's birthday, so a large group of us gathered at Awash Downtown ((http://www.awashnyc.com/) They have another location uptown on Amsterdam Ave.) for some Ethiopian food. I've never had Ethiopian, so I was really looking forward to this meal. Nestled on what I like to call 'Indian Alley', you'd miss the place if you weren't looking for it.

The decor is sparse (hey, we're here for the food!), but colorful, you could imagine the average restaurant in Africa would look just like this. We sat down & our resident expert & birthday boy, DJ, did all of the ordering.

We got beef, lamb & chicken tibbs (basically cubed meat, lightly sauteed & served with a sauce containing onions, peppers & African spices). The food came on large platters & was accompanied by various sauces & vegetables (the lentils were my favorite). Everyone ate 'family-style' there were 2 platters on the table & we all shared.

Forks & knives - no way. The 'utensil' of choice is an Ethiopian flat bread known as Injera, or Teff. Pancake-sized & lighter than I thought humanly possible, you would just break a piece off & dig into the meat & sauces. The food was amazing! I really enjoyed myself there. Tasty food, excellent service & good friends. I'll be revisiting Awash & I suggest that you check it out.