.Best Honey Wine

Shashamane

Ethiopia’s intensely floral native honey is a pillar of the country’s
singular cooking traditions, and tej, the sweet golden wine
derived from it, is as much a part of the national cuisine as
injera bread and spicy berbere. An ideal place to sample
this venerable and seldom encountered libation is Shashamane, a
handsome Ethiopian restaurant located along Oakland’s Auto Row. Your
choice of Yamatt tej (brewed in Sunnyvale) or Oakland’s own Enat is
served in a striking narrow-necked glass berele (carafe) with an
ice-filled inner chamber that keeps the liquid cool. The flavors are
extraordinary — like a blossoming orchard or a fragrant meadow
— and the wine’s nectarlike texture leaves a reverberative warmth
at the back of the throat. It’s an ideal companion for the earthy,
spicy house cuisine (especially the steak tartare with collard greens
and house-made cottage cheese), and there’s live music and dazzling
African art to satisfy the soul as well.

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