Last Week's Restaurant

Last week the weather was so nice — mid-70s every day. On Friday it was actually 87 at 3:45! Since we've been told to take advantage of any day that feels like spring — because it can and will reach 105 before you can blink your eye — Nigel and I picked Tim up from work most days and we all headed to Trinity River Park. The section we go to has a nice playground and there's usually a pretty diverse mix of kids, which is rare here.

So after some playtime on Friday, we headed over to Zeke's on Camp Bowie Blvd. We spotted it a month or so ago and were intrigued since it's gotten good reviews online. For starters, it's small and the interior decor reminded me of some of the chip shops I've seen in England (a sign that read "Hippies are always welcome" made me laugh). Nigel and I washed our hands in the super tiny bathroom while Tim ordered. To get to the bathrooms, which are the size of the ones at Nile, we actually had to walk into the kitchen first. Nigel got a kick out of that.

As in a true chip shop, just about everything here is fried. Tim and I each had the fish combo — one with fried zucchini and fried mushrooms, the other with fries. The fish was very moist, but a bit overpowered by the heavy breading. The cornmeal crust on the veggies was really nice, allowing the flavor of the zucchini and mushroom flavors to shine. The fries were fries, not chips. Nigel enjoyed popcorn shrimp and the attention from our waitress. I thought the food was good, but it's not top on my "must return" list.

On Saturday, Tim and I enjoyed a Nigel-free afternoon (more to come on that later) that ended with dinner at Desta in Dallas. Nigel and I last had Ethiopian food in September when we celebrated Ethiopian New Year in RVA sans Tim; Tim hadn't had it since well before that. Sure, I've been making my ferengi versions of dishes, but nothing beats the real thing.

Desta has only been open for a month or so, but the only thing that gave their newness away was its BYOB policy and absence of Tej. The all-Ethiopian staff was characteristically kind, and the food was amazing. We started with meat sambusas (think, Indian samosas) that were served with a cold lentil dish and chili oil. Tim enjoyed an order of beef tibs with shiro. My vegetarian combination platter included the standard shiro (not too spicy), misir wat, gomen (the best I've ever had), atakilt wat (the cabbage was so buttery and smooth) and kik alicha. But my plate also included two super tasty surprises: green beans and purple cabbage. We left feeling recharged by great food and friendly Habesha people. Desta is a place we'll definitely go back to, perhaps to try the all-day breakfast!