I would like to start out with an Ethiopian place in Boston. It's called Lucy's Ethiopian Cafe, located in the Symphony area. My friends and I got free tickets to one of the Boston Chamber Orchestra concerts, so we decided to stop by for lunch beforehand. Lucy's was a convenient and exciting option because it's right across from the performance center, and I had been dying to try Ethiopian food for the longest time. The place is pretty tight, laid-back, and decorated with African artifacts--not to sound too biased, musical instruments were my favorite. The server (or he could be the owner of the restaurant) was very friendly. Ethiopian is a perfect cuisine for my recent vegetarian diet, since it offers a lot of vegetarian/vegan dishes. For entrees, we ordered beef specials and a veggie combo (with potatoes and collard greens) seasoned with traditional Ethiopian spices. All entrees come with spongy, yeast-risen flatbreads called "injera." The most interesting thing about eating Ethiopian food would be that you don't use any utensils at all. It's all about using your hands to wrap the vegetables and meats with flatbread. Don't worry if you are completely new to Ethiopian--there is a nice brochure listing all the steps you need to know to tackle it. I absolutely loved the food, mostly because it appeased my affinity for spicy food. My friends, on the other hand, have really low tolerance to spicy things, but they still enjoyed the meal. So, if you're not fond of spicy food, you might have to watch out for the level of spiciness Lucy's offers; sometimes their "mild" could turn into medium hot for some people.
Now, to the real part: teas. I Yelped the restaurant before visiting to check out its ratings and specialities to look out for, and came across reading about peanut tea. Apparently, almost everyone who has tried became addicted to it. At first, I was skeptical but thought it wouldn't hurt to try, so I asked for a cup of peanut tea as soon as we got to desserts. The peanut tea was an absolute surprise! It had finely ground peanut in warm milk. It tasted a bit like peanut butter, which sounds odd, but it was delicious. The second time I came back with my roommate, I tried the traditional tea, which was very strong and pungent due to a hint of distinct Ethiopian bark spice that's really similar to cinnamon. It would be perfect as a cold remedy--it could immediately clear your sore throat. Yet again, remember that my spice tolerance is unusually higher than most people, so maybe something with milk--peanut tea, chai latte, etc. to name a few--might be safer for some of you.
I definitely recommend Lucy's to anyone looking for something adventurous and exotic yet also comforting, homey and full of warmth.
Most drinks here come in mugs like this.
This is the traditional tea mentioned in the text.
The beef special in the back. The green veggie combo in the front. Both came with rolled-up injera.
The green combo had green collards, spinach and potatoes, all seasoned with tasty Ethiopian spices.
