Ethiopian Food in L.A. — A Fabulous New Dining Experience
This Friday night, at a rather noisy gathering, Martha DeLaurentiis told us about her recent eight-day trip to Ethiopia for Save the Children, Patty Eisenberg told of an Ethiopian dinner she had cooked for her book club, while my two charming Muslim friends deeply impressed the table with a recounting of the origins of many [...]
Genet Agonafer is the Chef/Owner of this charming little restaurant on Fairfax
This Friday night, at a rather noisy gathering, Martha DeLaurentiis told us about her recent eight-day trip to Ethiopia for Save the Children, Patty Eisenberg told of an Ethiopian dinner she had cooked for her book club, while my two charming Muslim friends deeply impressed the table with a recounting of the origins of many of their faith’s beliefs. I recently had an opportunity to chat with Genet… she told me that her catering business mainly serves the film industry (no, they don’t serve the cast and crew only this food); in fact, she originally bought this place for its industrial kitchen before deciding to open the only truly gourmet Ethiopian eatery in the city. Yes, with its candle-lit white tablecloth atmosphere, small bar, African artifacts on the walls… it is somewhat elegant.Such an interesting woman, Genet came here from Ethiopia on Valentine’s Day in 1981, a single mother with a five-year old son. Went to work for the Brothers Ashkenazi at their Le Mondrian Hotel on Sunset as a waitress, for seven long years. Then worked nights cooking private dinners for customers. Finally she decided to open a restaurant, and acquired a space on La Cienega, opening in 2000. By then her son was a 23-year doctor/medical resident so he maxed out his credit cards to close the deal. (He is now working in New Zealand until June, the pride of her eye.) Owes a lot of her success to some food writers who admired her cooking, from Charles Perry of the L.A. Times to Jonathan Gold in the L.A. Weekly, who had said she is one of the great culinary wonders of our city.
I told her about my visit to Addis Ababa in the early sixties while scouting locations for Cinerama’sThe Lion, (never made). Emperor Haile Selassie was still in power, and he was encouraging the film industry to come there for shoots. I only remember a few good Italian restaurants in that city, lingering reminders of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in the thirties. And we commented on the 80,000 Ethiopians who were air-lifted to Israel in the early 80s and now have acclimated themselves to life there. (The Lost Tribe?) We laughed about the wonderful Ethiopian-born chef Marcus Samuelsson, of Aquavit, who has an enormous success in his new Harlem restaurant, Red Rooster.
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