| CAFE CHAT: Lalibela serves up Ethiopian adventures |
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By Joan Westlake Venture through the doors of Café Lalibela and you enter the delicious culinary world of Ethiopian cuisine. Restaurant manager Muna Deyene says the business, owned by Telahoun Molla, is a big family endeavor with aunts and uncles and cousins all part of the operation as well as frequent diners. “At first, we moved to Tucson because we had friends there and some of the family went to the University of Arizona,” she says.
 Chef Atsade serves up Ethiopian culinary adventures at Café Lalibela (photo by Joan Westlake). But, when it came to the decision to open a restaurant, Deyene says they thought Phoenix would be a better market. After opening their first location in northwest Phoenix, in January 1998 they moved into Tempe on the southeast corner of Hardy and University. Success brought expansion in December 2001, nearly doubling the size of the café. A few traditional mesob wicker tables were added to enhance the authentic Ethiopian experience, which is to present the meals family style for all to share. Ethiopian wines and beers also were added with an enhanced menu. “This is a very good place,” Deyene says of the Tempe location. “Here, it is close to the downtown and Arizona State University.” The authentic Ethiopian fare of savory vegetable and lentil entrees quickly made the restaurant popular with vegetarians around the Valley who long ago tired of pasta primavera, cheese enchiladas or beans with rice. Meat eaters were equally as pleased with the wats—hearty meat stews made from fish, chicken, beef or lamb. Café Lalibela continues to win awards as a best ethnic restaurant as well as a top vegetarian café. Traditional Ethiopian cuisine consists of injera and wat. Injera (pronounced in-jeer-ah) is crepe-like bread on which the entrees are served. The meal is eaten by tearing off a piece of injera and scooping up the food. The food is similar to that from India but without the rice. Although spices such as turmeric are used, the food is distinctly different from curry. However, you can still find spicy dishes such as the chicken doro wat. The easy-to-understand menu guides diners through mild to spicy stews such as the beef kye sega wat or the lentil misr wat. Entrée prices range from $4.25 to $5.25. Combination plates with three or four entrees are good buys at $11.95 or $12.95. Take out service is popular with folks who stop by on the way home from work. The weekly lunch specials at $6.99 includes beverage. Select the soup with salad duo or The Sampler, which is a choice of three entrees. The Spicy Wrap lunch, $6.99, includes a choice of two wats or vegetable entrees wrapped in a wheat tortillas, served with soup or salad. Servings are ample at lunch and dinner. Café Lalibela is open from 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from noon on Sunday. The restaurant is located at 849 W. University Drive. For more information, call 480-829-1939 or go to www.cafelalibela.com.
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