If you don’t read Korean, figuring out the name of this restaurant is tough. The word “Bakery” is prominent, enough, but it’s hard to read the name on the sign outside, impossible when the logo is shrunk to fit onto their business card. I got the name off the sales receipt. On the other hand if the pastries are good and the coffee is hot, does that matter? And did I mention gelato?

I come for the sauce. It’s recipe is top secret, but I think it would be possible to eat chair legs if you cut them small enough and covered them in this sauce.

Bart: Akira, my good man, I’d like two sharks, an octopus and an eel.
Akira: Very good.
Bart: Do you have any giant squid? The kind that drags men to their deaths?
Akira: Not today…

Never met a dumpling I didn’t like. I’ve made chicken and dumplings at my mother’s knee. I’ve had dumplings in Prague with wild hare stew and in Vienna with roast boar. Once at a little restaurant along the Danube in Germany, the dumplings were served alongside a chunky soup of mushrooms, potatoes, carrots and venison swimming in red wine. I’ve dropped dough atop a thick beef stew made in a Dutch oven and cooked with the coals of a campfire. Dumplings with soup are bliss. But I’d never had the soup inside the dumpling.

You love different ethnic cuisines, I know you do. But sometimes it is difficult to walk into a place for the first time, especially if you’ve never tried that kind of food before, right? Well, if you are new to Ethiopian cuisine, Desta is a good place to start. Ethiopian food is spicy, eaten with your hands and great to share. Get over yourself and walk in.