Well, Garrett of Vanilla Garlic has been raving about this restaurant for months now, so we really had to see what all the fuss was about. It opened recently in the space that was occupied by two Jamaican restaurants (which, oddly, never seemed to have much business) on Broadway near 17th Street. Since Jennifer and I don't always cross paths, we each tried it on our own and what follows are our individual takes.

Ann: When I lived in DC, I ate Ethiopian food several times and never really liked it much. Maybe my palate was still undeveloped, or maybe the food just wasn't that good, but when I tried Queen Sheba, I was very pleasantly surprised. Doing a bit of research before I ate there, I found out that Ethiopian royalty claims to be descended from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who was lauded by the King in the Bible. Feasts and hospitality are important aspects of Ethiopian culture, and so the food is traditionally served family-style.

My husband and I ordered two combo platters ($10.95 each), which came arranged on one large platter lined with the distinctive Ethiopian injera. It is a sour crepe-like bread made with flour from the native teff plant. You also get a basket of rolled injera, which you use to pick up bits of food for eating instead of using a fork. Keep in mind, though, that you're only supposed to use your right hand for eating, as the left hand is traditionally used only for personal needs (early moral code that turned out to have food safety value!).

Our combination platter included Doro Wat (chicken and hard-boiled egg in a spicy red pepper sauce), Tibbs (chunks of beef in onions, garlic, and spiced butter), Miser Kik Wot (lentils cooked in spices and accompanied with fresh salad), Gomen (cooked greens), Yebeg Tibbs (chunks of lamb in onions, garlic, and spiced butter), Chicken Tibbs. Clearly, Ethiopian food is meat heavy. We loved the lentils the most, but all of the meats were quite good as well. The sauce with the Doro Wat was especially savory sopped up with injera. I also had a really refreshing iced tea spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, while my husband had traditional honey beer (known as mead in other countries). We skipped dessert, but enjoyed the constant stream of Ethiopian music videos on a nearby flat-screen TV (one of the only times I've really appreciated a restaurant TV for atmosphere). We'll definitely go back.