Photo by Laurie Skrivan (Post-Dispatch)
Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant
South Grand mainstay Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant is an ideal antidote for our distracted, solitary modern times. Here, as is custom in Ethiopian dining, you forgo utensils and scoop up your food with the spongy flatbread called injera. In other words, you must put your phone away. And as everyone at the table uses their injera to scoop up some tibs wat from here, some miser alecha from over there, your meal naturally turns into a communal experience. For 12 years now, Henok Gerbi and Atsede Wondem have been serving a vibrant array of beef, lamb and chicken dishes and, as importantly, lentil, vegetable and other vegetarian-friendly fare. We need it today more than ever.
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Last year's ranking: Rest of the Best
Opened: 2007