Dining with the Queen of Sheba

• Restaurant website
• Location: Northeast Portland (past convention center)
• Cost to fill up two people for dinner: About $35-$40

If a restaurant could take an award for best people-watching, Queen of Sheba might top the list. Fortunately, the food (Ethiopian) is good, too.

Robyn and I took a seat by the window and watched a wondrous procession of dancers, bikers, dogwalkers, hip chicks, shirtless rock throwers, and one fellow in red flannel pajama tops whose Nike shorts continually slid to his ankles. Even the illustrious Ted Sawyer, Bullseye’s research director and wonderful glass artist in his own right, showed up.

And while we watched, we ate.

We’d ordered the vegetarian combo and asked for lentils in Berbere sauce (a dark red gravy reminiscent of very spicy chili), tangy stewed cabbage, salad, and chickpea stew, along with a chicken and mushroom dish. It came on a very tasty injera, a thin lentil pancake that serves as both platter and scooping utensil.

All of it was good; the Berbere sauce was a bit too hot for Robyn’s tastes but I loved it. By accident (mostly), we’d chosen an almost perfect mix for a warm and breezy spring evening: Hot and cool, crunchy and mushy, earthy and tangy.

Service wasn’t overly fast but very friendly, and the staff offered commentary on the sidewalk parade whenever we seemed puzzled. I wouldn’t put QoS right at the top of the list for ambience, but somehow it was exactly right.

About the only downside was another of my adventures in new taste: I ordered something called “Ginger Tea” and it turned out to be mostly water with a boatload of fresh ginger juice. Definitely an acquired taste.

After a couple of less-than-superb dineries, Queen of Sheba definitely put us back in the plus column.

Tip: You wouldn’t think parking would be a problem at this place, but it is; be prepared to hunt the side streets for awhile. The large and empty parking lot behind the restaurant belongs to the church next door, even though the signage is a bit confusing. They WILL ask you (nicely) to leave.