Meat Loaf

Green things. Green things were the absolute worst. That included: parsley, oregano, basil, and leaves on broccoli. I didn't eat seafood. Or chunky tomato sauce, or tomatoes in general. I couldn't eat ice cream or heavy dairy since I was lactose intolerant. Meat loaf was unspeakable. Hot dogs were gross. And pizza just didn't do it for me. To put it mildly, as a kid, I was a picky eater. 

Even though times were sometimes tough for my family, my dad would splurge and get me Burger King during my year in Brownies on a Tuesday night. I know I know, now that would be considered some kind of child endangerment due to obesity rates, but at the time, and for me, it was the best thing he could do since I was so picky, and a rather thin child. 

I can remember going to Pennsylvania for the first year "alone" since all my sister's were too grown up for such a trip and it ended up being my parents, my aunts, and me. We went to what I considered a "fancy" restaurant. Looking back, it was really just your average, not too nice, but not chain, Italian restaurant...I hated it. Way out of my league as far as my food tastes went, and I can clearly remember saying, "i'm a cheap date, i don't do fancy, just give me a cheeseburger and i'll be happy." Who knew I would ever grow out of that motto...

I don't think anyone in my family would have ever voted me "Most Likely to be an Adventurous Eater" as an adult. But somewhere along the way...well, it just happened. Probably around the time I was a senior in high school and shrimp was slowly introduced into my diet. From there it went to tofu, then thai food, onto clams and mussels, cooking for myself with chunky tomatoes, to Indian food, and then my very favorite, Ethiopian cuisine. 

Now, while I don't eat a whole lot of meat, my diet is rather diverse. I think of that scrawny little twelve year-old eating cereal at lunch, never once expecting to grow up to having a once a week craving for Ethiopian.

So I encourage you to do the same. Stretch your legs and see what's out there...I promise you won't be disappointed. And while I don't do this very often, at the bottom of this post you can find three of my very favorite Ethiopian restaurants, two on the east coast, one in Los Angeles, that in my opinion, are the best of the best, if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

Just a girl, with an endless appreciation for food, wondering how we get today's kids to be a little more adventurous, as well as some adults out there, and well, now being very hungry after writing this post.

Awash Restaurant
5990 1/2 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035

Meskel 
199 East 3rd St., New York, NY 10184

Lalibela
176 Temple St. , New Haven, CT 06510