Injera bread: Traditional tef, original recipe wheat, or gluten-free (call ahead) - included with every meal. Not to be used as a napkin. Spiced lamb: Bueg comes in three ways here, all are awesome, $14.95-$17.95. Drinks: Rare treats from the birthplace of humanity include Bati Beer ($4.00) and Ethiopian wine ($7.00/gl; $25.00/btl). Kokeb Beyaynetu: A sampler of everything including traditional coffee. Belete, J.D., recommends this culinary tour through the motherland, $24.95 Hours: Monday - Friday, 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday, 4:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Closed Sundays

Scout Notes: Do you know how to use injera? “People sometimes assume it’s a napkin,” Belete laughs, “they associate it with what they know.” So if you’re not sop-savvy already, here’s the skinny: that delicious sourdough-like flatbread replaces silver, not serviettes. Rip off a spongy hunk and wrap it around whatever morsel entices you: spiced lamb, curried lentils, chicken, seafood, greens...then: NOM! Share. NOM! Share. “Ethiopian is a fusion of different cuisines...based on eating being a social event—neighbors and families sit down and share—it's not for one individual to eat by the self.” Belete knows—he and his wife (head-chef extraordinaire) Yeshi arrived from the birthplace of coffee with but $200 in sponsor money. From that, they built the Pacific Northwest’s original Ethiopian restaurant and introduced community cuisine to the city of Seattle. Thirty years and multiple foodie awards later, the couple still banters in one of the world’s oldest languages and offers a up a slew of menu choices fit for Solomon and Sheba. With colorful basket-weave tables and traditional grain-wheel tabletops, Kokeb remains an insider spot locals love to share with visitors.