ishop Street, to a certain degree, is on the up and up, but there isn't much in the way of adventurous dining hangouts to prevent anyone from upscaling any other downtown area. Maybe the Irish Embassy will do the trick, but a better influence might be the area's newest Ethiopian restaurant, Magdala Ethiopian.

I had once been a fan of Messob d'Or on Bishop Avenue. My friends and I discovered it, sadly, about a month before it closed. So I cannot explain how thrilled I was to see a new restaurant pop open in its abandoned location.

The room melds traditional Ethiopian with modern downtown. The first, and last, thing that you notice are the little, carved stools imported from Ethiopia and the traditional straw mesobs – traditional communal tables, The space is appealing enough that you wouldn’t expect to have to eat with your fingers, but that is indeed the case. Ethiopian dining comes in the form of thick stews served atop spongy sourdough pancakes called injera,which diners use to scoop up their food (silverware is available upon request).

The food is still as good as it was as Messob. The only problem is that, on recent visits, many items on the menu was unavailable. The Doro Wot is always available. This spicy chicken dish, which features a whole hard-boiled egg, is excellent and by far a fave. Sadly, the beg wot - lamb stewed in tart and savory spices - proved to be too tough be enjoyable.