Gustavo reviewed Merhaba in Anaheim a dozen years ago. He described the meals there were like “landscapes [of] multiple-spiced spreads of meats and vegetables” served atop vast stretches of injera flat bread, a spongy, tart pancake the size of a large pizza that functions as starch, serving tray, and utensil. Merhaba has now closed.
Also closed was another Ethiopian place called Abyssinia on Lincoln Avenue. That one shuttered earlier this year and is now Felipe's Bar and Grill.
But Ethiopian and Eritrean food fans should rejoice. Even though you still only need one hand to count the number of East African restaurants in Orange County, the space Merhaba occupies is still serving kitfo and tips atop injera, except it is now also called Abyssinia.
A call to the new Abyssinia confirmed that besides sharing a name, this new restaurant is not connected to the old Abyssinia on Lincoln.
2801 W Ball Rd. Unit 5, Anaheim, CA 92804, (714) 826-8859
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.