All set to go, we headed to Lower Haight for Gallery 683's open house. PD was there and so were a dozen of lovely patrons and very innnneresting people, including PD's dad and gallery owner. You guys, he was the man that bought Mariachidelic, remember I told you? Anyway, Gallery 683 has loads of wonderful items from all over the world, we could have stayed all night and it wasn't just because of the complimentary wine and goodies.
When our growling stomach's began causing too much of a distraction we asked PD for some dinner recommendations and as luck would have it she gave us some great ideas. Right across the street is Axum, Ethiopian food. Now, neither Rafael nor I had ever had it so it was time to take the plunge. There were maybe 5 occupied tables when we arrived yet after we were given menus it was like a bus let out, seriously. The place was packed - good sign. So we ordered the chicken and the lamb and had a couple of beers as well. The food arrived in one gigantic plate with injera as your only means of consuming the main course(s) which means: your are going to use your hands, baby! Look, we Mexicanos have no problem with this as we have our tortilla techniques down flat so we can take a dainty piece of injera and scoop up a generous portion of the meat, hummus and salad with a graceful "swoop", an art in itself! I had to donate a big piece of injera to R because his injera to meat ratio was all wrong - ha! Talk about a Mexican Cracker! One question though, is the injera supposed to be room temperature? I'm a big "MY FOOD MUST BE SERVED HOT" freak so I like my edibles right out of the sarten, stove or wok. Ok, anyway the food was hot and tasty, I liked the Ethiopian spices that were actually very similar to Indian spices. I did think the place was a bit on the dark side and had trouble reading the menu, only the tables on either side of the place had overhead lighting, we were in the middle and in the shadows. Service was good, the waitress was a bit rushed off her feet with all the tables being full - yes, 1 waitress, though an older man did come in to help for a bit. Be warned: If you do go to an Ethiopian restaurant don't ask for utensils, just don't.
I will go back but after exploring many of the other restaurants in Lower Haight.
This neighborhood seems to be in the middle of a huge transformation and it couldn't have been more apparent then when we passed by Mad Dog in the Fog and nearly fell over. The place is unrecognizable. From divey, comfy, homey, live band playing local pub to swanky, sterile, record (?) spinning dj bar; mind you this opinion is based on solely walking by and gawking at the interior. Will eventually visit for a pint or two.
