Ethiopian restaurants, travel agencies and markets can all be found in LA's Little Ethiopia.
	Care For A Little Ethiopia With That? Urban Mozaik Takes A Stroll Through A Little Piece Of Los Angeles By Phalana Tiller Photos by Matt Ready On a narrow strip near the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles is an all too easy to miss, but delightful transplanted little piece of East African culture. Taking up only about a block of Fairfax Avenue between Olympic and Pico Avenues, "Little Ethiopia" offers any "Addis-withdrawal" sufferer, well traveled Ethio-phile, or curious novice the opportunity to indulge in romantic notions of misty, tej-filled evenings and fragrant lentil feasts. The California scion of the ancient Abyssinian kingdom teems with authentic, immigrant owned businesses. There are restaurants, markets, travel agencies, record stores, bakeries, and enough sources of goods and products to make Los Angeles feel a bit more like home to the city's Ethiopian community. Walking down the sidewalk in this neighborhood you are instantly hit with the sounds of Amharic and Tigrinya, two of the main languages of Ethiopia, and the lilting rhythms of singers like Aster Aweke floating out of café doors and swirling casually above the traffic din that is also a feature of any compact LA neighborhood. Local boys enjoying the neighorhood. The scent of cardamom spiced tea and injera (the savory crepe-like base of almost any meal) wafts seductively up from the many sidewalk tables that make this neighborhood popular with adventurous diners. Those interested in the unexpected treats of Little Ethiopia can choose from one of several such restaurants. Nyala at the south end of the strip offers a more sedate, polished Western experience, whereas Merkato (named after the vast open-air market on the western side of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa) gives off a slightly more "roots and culture" vibe. The latter is nestled right in the middle of the block and boasts a small market and a well-attended café. Between the two, and across the street, lie other attractive options like Rosalind's and Messob, where a cold Harrar beer is never too far. _____________________ The scent of cardamom spiced tea and injera (the savory crepe-like base of almost any meal) wafts seductively up from the many sidewalk tables that make this neighborhood popular with adventurous diners. _____________________ In the markets you can find more colors and types of lentils than most people know exist. Lining the walls and shelves are bottles of tej (Ethiopian honey wine), rich coffees and teas, imported spices and herbs for cooking, artistic renderings of Amharic mythology, and examples of the famous Coptic crosses made by the oldest methods of lost wax silversmithing. Galleries and souvenir shops invite you to saunter and ask questions of proprietors who are usually proud and eager to share their knowledge and individual stories of life between Ethiopia and Los Angeles. Enjoy a cold Harrar beer at the Messob Restaurant. Reasons for relocation are diverse. They range from the simple – a younger sibling who followed her elder sibling to college here in the late nineteen seventies, to the much more complex – an escape from the bloody war and merciless drought which plagued the Horn of Africa for much of the mid-nineteen eighties. People of this neighborhood dwell more on the proud legacy of ancient Ethiopian history and on the future of this dynamic little strip, than on the more painful recent history that led to their relocation. One is more likely to get into a conversation about what is ahead for the neighborhood, than any explanation of why it came to be. With its little known but abundant flow of beauty and culture, as well as a declaration by the city of Los Angeles as an "official business district", the strip is well poised on the mercurial lists of the hip ethnic neighborhoods. On a recent visit to Rahel Teffís Injera Market there was jovial chatter about whether this strip will soon outdo the better-known Ethiopian neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. and Toronto as the most popular. My money is on the underdog. Born in Botswana, Southern Africa (and raised between there and Alexandria, Virginia), Phalana now lives between New York City and Johannesburg, South Africa. Besides contributing to UM as a writer and editor, she also works as a film and television actor. She can be seen in the upcoming comedy “Recipe for Disaster”; as a sometime VJ on M2; and co-starring in the South African sit-com “The Carruthers Brothers”. She thanks her sister Michaela for being an example of grace and an inspiration for excellence. This website: Copyright © 2000 Dream World Media / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. This website/publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.
						Merkato attracts visitors and patrons with their bright neon signs.