[URBAN NOTE] Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant, 869 Bloor Street West

[rfmcdonald]

While Ethiopians are less visible than other immigrant communities, they still form a sizable population. Statistics Canada reported that in 2001, there were roughly fifteen thousand Ethiopian-Canadians, and that of these, ten thousand lived in Ontario. One of the major nuclei of this community can be found on the street of Bloor Street West between the Ossington and Christie TTC stations, an area filled with the restaurants and community organizations of both Ethiopians and Eritreans, signs written in different languages Ethiopic script alongside English.

Ethiopian food is good, simple but spicy, served in abundant small portions. I first ate it at Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant in April 2003, during my second visit to Toronto. This afternoon I met up with finfin for lunch there, ordering their two-person Lalibela platter and some Ye' Beg Key Wat (their transliteration; lamb cooked in a sauce mildly spiced by Ethiopian standards). It was excellent food, not only because we were so quickly stuffed by the soft spongy breads and foodstuffs. The strong dark coffee served at the end of the meal was perfect. (I wonder how well an Ethiopian coffee house could do in downtown Toronto.) Less upscale than Addis Ababa Restaurant (1184 Queen Street West), Lalibela is a fine inexpensive restaurant worthy of more patronage. There didn't seem to be much of a lunch crowd. I think that there should be.