Ethiopean

Now, I have a second favorite restaurant and it's
Abyssinia Ethiopian RestaurantAbyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant
2600 Poplar Ave # 115Memphis, TN 38112
(901) 321-0082


This wonderful, family owned and run restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Mon-Saturday. Yilma and Sabla (forgive the spelling) greet you warmly if its your first or fiftieth visit. While the buffet is great if you want to sample. Please talk with Sabla and tell her what you generally like, spicy, mild, light, heavy etc. and she will give you a great recommendation. I HIGHLY recommend going and giving yourself time to look at the many artifacts on the walls and around the restaurant. Order a "traditional" meal and practice taking small piece of Ethiopian bread (a sourdough pancake really, made with the world's smallest grain, teff) and pick up your food and pop it in your mouth, but don't touch your fingers to your mouth, that's bad manners! They will usually give you silverware unless they know you :) They used to have wine, but seem to have stopped that recently. Go, enjoy and tell them I sent you! Their menu is online at http://www.memphismenusonline.com/abyssinia.html and they always post 2 or 3 coupons a month. That makes an already inexpensive meal, extra reasonable. Caution: each entree EASILY serves 2!

Don't miss it!

Something a Little Different

As you know, or should, my favorite restaurant in the city is Molly's La Casita. The best margaritas in the city. Actually, the best I've tasted and that's comparing it to the top shelf at Flounder's in Pensacola Beach. We don't get to go as much as we used to because of finances. For medical reasons, my partner can no longer work. That's taken away our play money. We're also tightening up and making major strides towards retiring all debt except for the house so that I can retire comfortably in 8 years.

All that said to say, I've tried other restaurants and will post my thoughts from time to time. Some co-workers and I tried Pearl's Oyster Bar downtown on Main a while back. We went at lunch time. When we arrived, around 11:30, is wasn't very crowded but by the time we left it was packed. Here are my thoughts. For $18 for an entree at lunch, the food better be spectacular and it wasn't. I had the special which was a fish dish and it wasn't all that. There was very little flavor.

The table where we were seated was hot. The sun coming in through the window was brutal and the ceiling fan over our table wasn't on. Looked like someone had broken the pull string and nobody at the restaurant cared enough to fix it. Service was ok. The waitress was very friendly and attentive but food coming out of the kitchen was slow. I know, not the waitress' fault but something could have been communicated and wasn't.

I don't think I'll go back. Certainly not for lunch. Maybe if they run a special on raw oysters. All in all, I'd give it 2 stars on a scale of 5. Just sort of blah about it.

Effin Biting Flies

The morning started gloriously. It's cool. I'm on the lower deck with a cup of fresh coffee and the laptop. I'm watching the sun come up over the dunes. Can't get much better. Later, I walk down to the beach. The water is calm and clear. No jellies in sight. Is going to be a great day for snorkling and shelling. I take a short dip then go sit to read and what in the hell do you think starts happening?? The wind has shifted and is now coming from the mainland which brings with it.....you guessed it--those nasty little black biting flies. Such fuckers. I deal with it but cuss each and every one that I kill.

Eventually, I go back out into the water and enjoy the gentle waves, my boys, my partner and a neighbor friend from across the street. It's almost perfect except for those little black buzzing fuckers.

Pensacola Beach, Pensacola. It's almost paradise here depending on which way the wind blows.

Kinda like politics in Memphis.

One of the flies was named Willie.

He's a flat bloody spec out there on the sand somewhere.

Life is good.