Fassica

As a rule, holes-in-the-wall (or is it hole-in-the-walls) have the best food. Lacking the pretention of a more elegant restaurant, they also lack the uptick in price. Generally, Ethiopian restaurants skirt around this issue, as there are only a couple that shoot for the upscale image, most of them target their local population. Fassica is actually in Culver City on the corner of Washington and Motor. You would drive right by it if you picked lint off your shoulder. They actually have a fairly extensive menu, and even featured some dishes I have not seen in the other Fairfax restaurants.

I had to flip the menu to the back cover to see the list of specials, otherwise I would have never seen the combinations. I was immediately drawn to the Fassima combo, which is a liberal helping of Kitfo (Lean Beef), Doro Wot (Chicken Stew), Alicha Fit-Fit (Lamb) Yebere Siga Tibs (Beef), Yemisir Kik Wot (Split lentil Stew), Atkilit Alicha (Cabbage Stew), Gomen Wot (Collard Greens), Yeater Kik Alicha (Split-pea Stew).

Kitfo, for the uninitiated, is the national dish of Ethiopia, and is raw beef. I love it. Simple, not as elaborate as tartare, it is a fresh helping of chopped raw beef with dried cottage cheese curds. The beef is moist and flavorful, and the cheese is incredibly mild, so it just adds a bit of contrasting texture to the mixture.

Calling the dishes 'stew' is a bit misleading, although it probably refers to the cooking method than the actual dish. The meat is stewed, and served in a thick sauce of berbere for chicken and beef (brown sauce with peppers, but not really hot) or a golden semi-sweet sauce for the lamb.

For those unfamiliar with the dining customs of Ethiopia, food is served on a communal plate of injera, a fermented, pancake like bread resembling a huge buckwheat pancake. It is made of a flour called Tef, nearly impossible to get here in the US. It has a slight sour flavor, and is spongy and resilient. You tear a piece off and roll your food in it. It is your food as it is your utensil. I was admittedly skeptical about Fassica, because when we sat at our table, they had silverware on them. Actually, I did need to use the fork for the salad.

The flavors of the dish were deep and reminiscent of higher-scale restaurants like Nyala or Rosalind's. In fact, the kitfo and berbere may have surpassed the richness of flavors I have experienced in other Ethiopian restaurants. Good going!

As always, I cannot finish the food. The average dish feels at least two pounds heavy, even before wrapping in injera. If it is not too soggy, the part of the injera that was hosting the food is the most flavorful, having absorbed all the juices from what was sitting upon it.

Amdended: The atmosphere is hole-in-the-wall-ish and the staff is friendly and personable.