7 days ago
The 9 Best East African Restaurants in the East Bay
Alan Chazaro
is the author of This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album (Black Lawrence Press, 2019) and two other books of poetry. His work can be found in The Guardian, SLAM, GQ, L.A. Times, Condé Nast Traveler, and more.
In 1985, Asmara opened as one of the first East African restaurants in the East Bay. Since then, the Ethiopian and Eritrean food scene — along with its multi-generational population — has flourished along the wandering coast of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge. Largely concentrated along Telegraph Avenue, the East Bay is the region's epicenter of East African grub, delivering an impressive array of diasporic classics that are historically vegan-friendly.
With more than forty years' worth of offerings, there's certainly no shortage of spots where you can score a smorgasbord of injera-plated, berbere-spiced proteins and veggies — awaze tibs (spiced lamb), shiro wat (chickpea stew), dulet (minced liver or beef).
