Food is the perfect social catalyst. Forget conversation starters on the back of boxes; sit down with long-lost friends or your BFF, around a plate of food, and chances are conversation will not be lacking.
One Sacramento area restaurant that provides the perfect centerpiece dinners is Queen Sheba Ethiopian Cuisine, located on 1740 Broadway. This quaint restaurant, with its simple, yet traditional red-hued decor has been serving traditional Ethiopian fare since 2003.
How is it that this restaurant differs from so many others, yet lends itself so perfectly to being one of the best places to strike up a conversation? Simple. Ethiopian food is interactive.
If you go for dinner, order the combination plate: options vary depending on the number of people in your party. Each combo platter comes with a pre-selected trifecta of chicken, beef and lamb, and two veggie entrees of your choice, along with salad, all plated on a large Injera-lined tray.
Sounds like a lot of food, right? But it’s so much fun to eat. Placed right in the middle of the dining table, the plate invites everyone in your party to dive in, family style, only closer.
Each platter comes with a basket of Injera (traditional thin sourdough bread), lots of napkins, and none of those cumbersome four-pronged utensils. Just rip off a piece of the Injera, doughy, spongy and tart, and dig in to the slow-stewed, tender Doro Wat (chicken in a special blend of Berbere, herbs and spices) or, a personal favorite, the Misr Kik Wot, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth, spiced red lentils, with just enough extra kick to get your juices flowing.
Excellent for those who are just beginning to expand their culinary horizons, the food at Queen Sheba offers flavors that are deep, rich, and exotic, yet somehow still familiar. Some of their dishes do have that extra kick and are duly noted as such, but the rest of the entrees are very mild. Plus, there’s always that added perk of eating with your hands, which surely mother dearest used to scold you about when you were younger.
Moderately priced, Queen Sheba is a great place for date night or a night out with the girls. Go, have fun, reach across the table and play with your food. It is, after all, finger-lickin’ good.
For more information, visit their website at: www.queenshebas.com/index.html
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