Ghenet

"“Ghenet is a touchstone of my whole personality. We order this food three times a week. When I first moved to New York, I was like, ‘Ooh, I'll get a job at Ghenet, and then maybe they'll send me home with food.’ I didn't even do anything. I did one shift and then somebody in there was not f*king with me. I followed up the next day. They were like, ‘Oh, we'll be in touch.’ I followed up, no response. I waited a week, like, ‘Hey.’ Also, mind you, in between, I ordered delivery from the restaurant. They'd seen my name multiple times. Then I was like, ‘You know what, this is probably for the best.’ Because when you work in a restaurant and you're around the food too much, you start to get tired of it. I think that was God saving me from hating my favorite food. I did not get that job. They were not messing with me. But I turned my fiancé on to it. I forced his family to try it. It's my favorite food. My go-to order is a veggie combo with shiro wett, and the yedubba wett—the squash—is unreal. Kitfo, which is the raw beef dish—shout out raw beef. I don't eat much beef anymore, but I love that. I also get the aterkik aletcha which is a yellow split pea, and I like to get the collard greens. My fiancé really likes the carrots and cabbage and potatoes. Depending on the day, it'll be a mixture of all those things. And they have gluten free injera. I'm gonna order it tonight.”" - brennan carley

"This casual Ethiopian spot on the border of Park Slope and Gowanus is a reliable choice for group dinners, especially if there are vegans in the mix. The space has big windows, a faux-thatched ceiling, and booths that make it easy to get cozy with your friends around a bunch of delicious food. We always go for the combinations here—the vegetarian option is $99 for four people and comes with a choice of four vegetarian dishes." - willa moore, neha talreja, will hartman

"Founded by Yeworkwoha Ephrem, Ghenet (“heaven”) has long been a mainstay of Gowanus dining, a destination for parties — it can accommodate fairly large ones — dates, and late evening suppers. Dining is communal, over big trays of injera bread. Chicken doro wett is a favorite, but you could do just as well with the vegetarian assortment, or the asa tibs, which features a whole fried fish." - Robert Sietsema, Eater Staff

"Ghenet opened in Nolita in 1998, and now the brilliant mother-daughter team of Yeworkwoha Ephrem and Sosinna Degefu have brought their intensely flavored Ethiopian cooking to the Brooklyn masses. The menu stars traditonal offerings like Doro Aletcha, a chicken and egg stew, served with mountains of vergetables and legumes on large discs of spongy injera bread. Eat it all with your hands and a bottle of Hakim Stout in a beautiful space with a high ceiling lined with thatch." - Hyperakt

"This Ethiopian spot between Park Slope and Gowanus has lots of meat-free options in addition to dishes like steak and tuna tartare, so it’s another place that’s ideal if you have dietary restrictions and aren’t just avoiding cheese for reasons of the heart. Everything is shareable, so this is also a good bet for a date or double date." - emma mustich