Welcome to the Ras Teferi Restaurant. As we are the
only Ethiopian restaurant in the Sacramento area, we hope
to make your visit with us as memorable as possible.
Traditional Ethiopian food consists of
injera and
wot.
Injera is a thin crepelike flat bread made of
teff, an
iron rich grain grown only in Ethiopia, although
entrepreneurs have started growing it in this country
to serve the large Ethiopian community in the United
States. Wot is a spicy sauce that can be made with
beef, lamb, chicken, fish (pork is not eaten in
Ethiopia) or any number of vegetables such as lentils
and split peas. The main ingredient is
berbere,
a spice that combines red peppers, cumin, cardamon,
ginger, coriander and other similar spices. Every
family prepares its own berbere by first sun drying
the peppers and then combining the other ingredients.
The berbere we us in our restaurant is prepared by
our families back in Ethiopia.
The meal is normally served on a
mesob, a large plate on
a colorful woven basket table, with a variety of wots
arranged on the injera. Family and friends sit around
the mesob and share the communal serving by tearing
off pieces of the injera and scooping up the various
wots with it. Silverware is not used at all;
instead one uses the original fork - one's fingers.
Although the food is finger-licking good, it's
considered bad manners to lick one's fingers because
diners are sharing a communal plate. It's both
customary and proper to wash one's hands before and
after eating.
About our name: Ras Teferi is the name of the late
Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, when he was the
Regent of the country back in the 20's. His given
name was Teferi Mekonnen, and
ras literally means
head, and is a title used to mean head of state.
When Ras Teferi became emperor he adopted the name
Haile Selassie. At that time, Jamaica was an English
colony and Jamaicans used to have to say 'Hail to the
King', meaning the King of Britain. Jamaicans
clamoring for independence didn't appreciate doing
that. When they heard of Ras Teferi's coronation
they started to pledge allegiance to a real African
king and they became known as Rastafarians. Presently,
there are still Rastafarians in Jamaica and elsewhere. So much for the history lesson.
As for our restaurant, we sincerely appreciate your
patronage, and please do not hesitate to ask any of
us for help with our menu. Enjoy your dining.
