Derae

Derae
923 S Highland St
901-552-3992

Warren became obsessed with taking us all to Derae, an Ethiopian & Mediterranean restaurant, near the University of Memphis. Ethiopian is a hard sell for me, much less the monkeys (Satchel, 11 and Jiro, 9).

When we balked, he got take out one night when I was out. Satchel had a few bites and then quickly got on board. A few Saturdays ago, maybe the Saturday after Thanskgiving, I finally decided to be a team player and convinced the monkeys we should go just because dad wanted to. Jiro (age 9) wasn't thrilled, but he was willing.

Derae is located on Highland, just past Park, in a small, semi-sketchy strip mall.



But don't let the outside scare you away! Inside it is just lovely.



The owner is very friendly and greets everyone. He asks if you've ever been there and if not he makes recommendations. Within a couple of minutes he had our entire meal planned. Easy!

Warren ordered tea, which reminded me of the tea I loved in Cameroon--very sweet and strong.



The rest of us ordered water, which came bottled.

We started with an order of three sambusas, which is one of my favorites. They are small, fried meat pies.



They were a pretty easy sell to the monkeys. Warren and I really loved the hot curry sauce they came with.



Even without the sauce, Jiro described them as spicy. I'd say flavorful is a more accurate descriptor.

Next up was Fuul, which apparently made the Commercial Appeal's list of 100 things to eat.



It's kind of like a Meditteranean chili. It was delicious. Even Jiro had to admit that it was good. The best part? Sopping it up with fresh, hot bread.



Satchel and Jiro could seriously just eat bread all day long, so they were happy.

Next up, our entrees. Rice with goat and a vegetarian platter with injera.




Everything was excellent. Warren made everyone try the goat. The rice was another easy sell. Satchel was shoving injera in his face as fast as he could.



We were all pretty stuffed and we had absolutely no leftovers, but the owner insisted on bringing us dessert. "It's on me. Very small for the sake of tasting." he said.



I didn't catch what they were actually called, but if you wanted to call them tiny bites of delicious chickpea fudge you'd be right on.

Our total bill was $37 plus tip.

We'll be back!