It wasn't until the third visit that I developed an affection for Red Sea 47, a new Ethiopian restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. My previous meals there had been lackluster—the food had had a reheated quality (Ethiopian is one of the world's most microwavable cuisines), and most of the fare had been mind-numbingly bland.
There were exceptions. Generally regarded as the cuisine's signature, doro wat ($13.95) fell just short of spectacular: two small pieces of chicken—skin, bones, and all—tussling with a boiled egg in thick red sludge. It's the Ethiopian answer to mother and child reunion, the Cantonese dish celebrated by the Paul Simon song. Even more important, the spice level of the doro wat had been incendiary, in a cuisine that's famed for its heat. How you attack it is up to you, but I recommend smashing the egg with your fist, then stripping the chicken off the bones so that everyone may share it. As in many Third World cuisines, all the action is in the sludge.
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