We arrived at about 12:30 and were the only people in there for our entire meal. It's a shame too, because the food was very good. We ordered 2 sambusas for appetizers ($1.00 each). We ordered everything together and they were actually the last thing to come out, but that's okay. These are the Somali version of samosas, empanadas, etc. This version had a perfect, light, crispy crust. The filling was mainly hamburger with onions and spices. I also ordered the tea. I was warned that it is Somali tea, which of course made me want it more. I don't generally put milk or anything sweet in my tea, but this came out with milk, lightly sweetened and spiced. It was very good and comes free with breakfast.
I ordered the injera ($10.00). Injera would be familiar to anyone who has ever eaten in an Ethiopian restaurant. It's the sour, spongy flat bread that you eat your food with. This was served with (clockwise from the top) 1)lettuce 2)something I didn't figure out but could have eaten a whole plate of 3)a mixture of cucumber, tomatoes, onions, and peppers 4)green sauce very similar to the green sauce I love at the Peruvian chicken place Pollo a la Brazza 5)spinach, which was a little over cooked for my taste, but I like very lightly cooked spinach 6)cabbage, which was nicely done 7) and in the middle is fajita type chicken that was great with the green sauce. This was a good, varied plate. Even with Katy helping me this was too much food to finish.
Katy got the chicken sukar sandwich. Sukar was an option for breakfast, on a sandwich, and as an entree, so we figured we should try it. This was a serious sandwich. I only had a bite, so I'll let Katy do most of the explaining, but it was good bread, plenty of chicken, and a delicious sauce. For $4.00.
The interior certainly isn't the nicest I've been in, but it's clean. The young lady working there was very friendly and helpful. What's most important is that the food is well done, tasty, and as a big bonus it's super cheap. I don't know why nobody was here. The restaurant has been there a few years and under current ownership for about a year so presumably they do get some business.
Katy:
I was a bit worried upon opening the menu and seeing the hot wings, caesar salad, and philly cheese steak next to the sukar and injera. Visions of a repeat of Bay Leaf danced in my head momentarily, but in this case the Somali dishes came through admirably. I had no idea what sukar was when I ordered it, but figured if you could have it for breakfast, a sandwich, or an entree that it must be the thing to eat. It was quite good with onions and peppers along with the chicken. The sauce was a little spicy, a little sour, and a lot yummy. Maybe the Somali version of a good buffalo sauce? I didn't think to ask what the breakfast and entree versions came with (if anything), but it made a great (if slightly messy) sandwich.
The sambusas were a bit bland compared to the other food. Nicely executed in terms of the pastry, just not super exciting on the inside, but still tasty enough.
Definitely the atmosphere is nothing to write home about (and you have to look hard to even spot the restaurant in the strip mall because it's surrounded by tax preparation service signs) but I've found that in many such cases that's where you get the best food.
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