Aster's Ethiopian Restaurant

2804 N. I-35
Austin, TX 78722
(512) 469-5966

Rahul picked me up after an intense afternoon of basketball. We finally made our highly anticipated visit to Aster's Ethiopian Restaurant, which recently reopened. It's on I-35, just north of Dean Keeton, on the southbound side.

If you've never had Ethiopian food, here's Wikipedia's ever-useful wisdom. The first time I ever had Ethiopian food was in Washington, D.C. with a bunch of HBAers. dim lights, lots of food, lots of talking, great atmosphere.

At Aster's, the atmosphere is casual (fortunately, since Rahul was still in his gym shorts). Patio seating is optional, and there's good, bright lighting. The obvious choice (since I was with Rahul) was the vegetarian sampler platter. We sat there trying to decide what choices to get (the menu said that we get a choice of vegetarian dishes) but it turned out that we got a little of everything. The waiter was really nice and helpful about describing the various oddly-named dishes. He asked if we wanted silverware, but what fun is Ethiopian food if you don't allow yourself to get messy with it? (Be prepared to get injera stuck under your fingernails and whatnot). The potatoes and lentils were good, but some of the other dishes seemed bland. The injera was thinner than I remember at the other Ethiopian restaurant, and it was served room temperature. I thought they could be more generous with the injera, but maybe I'm just too much of a bread lover. Or maybe they just are generous with the food servings! :)












Though it can't beat the Ethiopian food of Washington, D.C., it's worth a try. Apparently, Houston has some great Ethiopian restaurants as well.

Some other food lovers' thoughts:

1. "food from the birthplace of humanity"
2. yelp reviews