Desta Ethiopian Restaurant
New adventure today! My husband and I [Luis] decided to eat at a new venue. Ethiopian.
A ‘never have I ever’ theme started playing in my mind when I thought of the idea. However, truly I am tired of the ‘same old restaurants’ week after week. Especially with being an admin for a fast-growing Foodies Page on Social Media; I need to open my mind and try new things. So, I took the recommendation of Asmeret on Social Media and decided, Ethiopian it was, and Desta is where we decided to go. You may have heard of Desta as it was in the news in 2012 when the owners were viciously murdered and yet the family decided to keep the establishment open in their honor.
The atmosphere is phenomenal and quite like the atmosphere that I love. When we walked in there were no rushing waiters to seat us. There were two men at a table who waved us in and told us to grab a table wherever we wanted to sit. Once we chose a table, I started looking around. Lights were out and the sunshine streaming in through the windows was all there was, and it was all that we needed. There was no television or radio streaming, it was chatter and laughter. Lots of laughter! The waitress came to us and was ready to answer all my million questions; asking for an explanation of menu items and to let her know the big reveal, I am VEGAN! Me being vegan did not phase her she pointed out the meal I would want; Veggie Combo served with rolled injera. Luis decided on the Quanta FirFir because he loves his meat! We both ordered basic water and sweet tea. I have to say the sweet tea was not too sweet…some places in Texas go way overboard with sugar in tea.
Then comes the food. My plate had pools of greens, cabbage, red and green lentils, chickpeas, and a chickpea sauce in the center. There were four injera rolls to eat with. Luis’ was served on a half injera roll with a mixture of injera strips, dried beef, barbecue, and tomato sauce along with three injera rolls to eat with. Luckily, we had an opportunity to observe others eating to see how to do it right. Otherwise, I would have been the one asking for utensils. Luis did inform me that it is customary to eat with the opposite hand you take care of personal cleanliness with. An important piece of knowledge! Eating with my hands in public has never been so satisfying! The food was phenomenal! Items were seasoned, but not overly so. There were different textures and flavors you did not get bored or have a one-note dish at all. Asmeret advised us that it is customary to finish a meal with a coffee or cappuccino so we both finished with one as well.
Once lunch was complete a restroom visit was mandatory. Cleanliness was not skipped here either. The restroom was very tidy and well-stocked. There were two stalls and two sinks, all in working order. Trash was not overflowing and there was not an odor. Impressive for a restaurant restroom. I was ready to go to the table and get the check. Once seated the check came and it was not overwhelming, especially for the abundance of food that we were served. All total with tip our lunch was $48 bucks for both lunches, drinks, and cappuccinos at the end.
Pros: Service and atmosphere were great!
Cons: Additional vegan/veggie options [there is only one]
Likelihood of Return Visit: 5/5
If you are ever in the area do yourself a favor and go grab some lunch or dinner!
