Desta Ethiopian Kitchen

Top choice in Atlanta


It's worth a trip to the burbs for this authentic Ethiopian – there's a wait list before noon – where vibrant dishes like tibs (saucy sautéed meat or fish with onion, tomatoes, peppers and berbere chili powder), misir wot (spicy red-lentil stew) and kitfo (raw minced beef with mitmita seasoning and Ethiopian-spiced butter) pop with flavor.

Sop it all up with injera bread (a spongy, sourdough-risen flatbread) and toast with beer and wine. It's in Druid Hills, 5 miles north of Decatur.