Awash Ethiopian Restaurant, Brooklyn

Awash Ethiopian Restaurant has earned quite a reputation since opening in 1994. Press outlets as diverse as The New York Times, New York magazine, and Time Out New York have all raved about the authentic Ethiopian cuisine found at all three of the restaurant's locations. True to Ethiopian tradition, heaping portions of spiced meats and stewed veggies pair with bites of injera, a spongy sourdough flatbread meant to replace utensils. As noted by the Times, chefs here are also equally skilled at crafting vegetarian dishes, such as berbere-spiced lentils, as they are at whipping up omnivorous ones, such as the tartare-style steak kifto.