Cafe Eritrea D'Afrique - Oakland

Cafe Eritrea D'Afrique is my favorite Eritrean restaurant in Oakland, and not only because it's the closest to my location. I usually order the veggie combo, but the stewed meats are also excellent. The Veggie Combo, $9.95 per person, is a combination of 7 stewed dishes: Shiro - A puree made from seasoned garbanzo beans, Birsin - Seasoned Split Lentil Stew, Hamlee - Collard greens with a house dressing, Phool - Egyptian fava beans cooked with tomato, bell pepper and onion, Potatoes - Stewed potatoes in a rich sauce, Humus - A blend of garbanzos, Salad - Green salad with a tangy dressing. There are a wide assortment of stewed meats in rich gravies for about $10 per plate: Kulwa - Beef cubes fried in spiced butter with garlic, onion, pepper, Alicha - Tender Lamb chunks stir-fried in mild curry with seasoned butter, Derho (Zabhi) - Spiced Chicken Stew cooked with seasoned butter, hot spices, served with boiled eggs, yogurt or cottage cheese. House Samplers are available, a combination of selected meat and vegetable dishes combined on one plate.

I think just about everything comes with a healthy serving of Injera bread. Not only a bread, but your eating utensil! Often described as spongy, this sour bread is traditionally used to scoop up the meat or vegetable stews. It is served in a basket on the side, but also as the tray liner upon which the stewed dishes are artfully arranged in a circle, with the salad in the middle. I like to use the salad lettuce as scoops too, lest my belly burst when my meal is gone from eating too much of this delicious, but very filling, flat bread!

Their prices are a few dollars lower at lunchtime, but I don't notice a difference in portions. Always fresh, and the servers are beautiful and very friendly. It sometimes takes a while to get your giant steaming platter of delicious food, but it's definitely worth the wait because it is so obviously prepared with care and love!

VEGETARIANS/VEGANS: I think there are plenty of veggie-friendly options offered here, but I think that vegans should definitely ask before they order. Seasoned butter is often included in dishes that would otherwise be vegan.

LOCATION/HOURS: 4069 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, California 94609 (510) 547-4520. Call for hours, but I'm pretty sure they are open until 11 pm most nights.