If you've never eaten at an Ethipian/Eritrean establishment there are a few things you might want to know. First, the food is eaten with your hands using delicious, sourdough-like, mildly elastic njera bread to pick it up. Wait staff, while usually nice, will not be as attentive as other restaurants as a general rule. Be prepared to flag down your waitress if you need something. Know that there will almost always be a strong smell of incense. If you can deal with that you can have a great meal at Merkato.\n\nI like to ask cab drivers who are not native to America where their country's best food is served in town. Not only does it help pass the time, but they will almost invariably steer me in the right direction (pun intended). Almost all of the Ethiopian cabbies say Merkato is the best and you can tell by the number of cabs parked in the Merkato parking lot. \n\nI've been to Merkato three times now; twice taking Ethiopian virgins (to the food, not the other kind). It is in the corner of a struggling strip mall without much indication that there is a restaurant inside. Upon entering there is a nice little retro bar with a small assortment of liquor. The rest of the place is made up of dated peach-pink-ish Formica tables.\n\nOn all three visits I have ordered the doro wat which is a chicken leg and a boiled egg in unexplainably delicious sauce and the vegetarian combo. I'm an unapologetic carnivore, but I could be a satisfied vegetarian if all I could eat was that veg combo. the things they do with lentils are fantastic. Doro wat is the ubiquitous Ethiopian dish and is done to perfection here. On two occasions we ordered gored gored. Basically, raw beef cubes in a spicy herbed marinade. If you can get past the raw part (I've NO problem with it) then you're in for a real treat. On the last visit we ordered the short ribs which were ok, but nothing special.\n\nBring your appetite and be prepared for leftovers. I didn't think it possible, but doro wat is even better the next day.
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