Along Oakland's northernmost stretch of Telegraph Avenue, there are a few particular blocks that, for whatever reason, are absolutely saturated with Ethiopian food. But none, of the thousand or so that have wedged their way somewhere between the Marxist Library and Pet Food Express, is quite so exquisite as Café Colucci.
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I first fell in deep, abiding love with Café Colucci the day it fed our table of four with one vegetarian platter. Our fingers, stained with turmeric's neon yellow, grasped with sour injera at the last few bites of gomen and warm yellow split peas, even though we were unthinkably full. No one could finish the gingery chicken, and that soggy bottom layer of injera remained untouched. The meal was $13.
Café Colucci is no secret, it has been a much loved local institution for over twenty years. Of all the spots on the strip, it is the first to fill its tables every night, and for good reason. To start, every dish from the full spectrum of Ethiopian cuisine is complex and well done. The flavors are dynamic, the portions plentiful, and textures are perfect and varied. In particular, the azifa -- lentils with mustard seed and garlic -- are smooth and piquant, and doro wat -- chicken in berbere sauce -- is succulent, spicy, and comes with an egg (as all such things should, really).
Part of Café Colucci's charm is how it remains anchored to the past while staying current. This is communal dining, and on our side of the bay, in this little borderland plumped with young, hip, new-age Bohemians freshly expelled by "The City"'s high rents, we like that sort of thing. The tables are glass-topped, sectioned, and filled with goods from the homeland: lentils, cardamom, green coffee, barley, etc. The edges of the furniture are sometimes splintered or worn, and paint is flaking. The grains under the table top are laminated to a sheen, giving the whole thing a museum-like effect -- a hands-on science museum, that is. The kind where you touched stuff and licked your fingers and spilled meat juices on clean surfaces.
For the best experience, opt for one fewer dish than you think you'll need, order the sweet honey wine (dry is an option), ask for extra cabbage, and bring a date. The act of shoving a sopping, fermented blanket that's wrapped around dripping collards into your mouth, using five fingers, makes for a really great ice-breaker. Trust us.
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