Americans eat off a communal plate occasionally — when the menu includes pizza, perhaps, or chips and salsa. Maybe sushi.
But locally, there's no dining experience like Zemam's, an Ethiopian restaurant where diners eat with their hands. Although it may seem strange at first, forgoing utensils is customary in the East African nation.
"People, the first minute they see other people eating with their hands, they don't care," said owner Amanuel Gebremariam, 56. "It brings family together."
Gebremariam opened Zemam's in 1994 , after graduating from the University of Arizona with a business degree in 1992.
Born in Ethiopia, Gebremariam learned how to cook from his mother. He came to the United States in 1982 as a refugee from the Ethiopian civil war.
"I had it in the back of my mind I was going to open a restaurant one day," he said. "I just didn't want to work for anyone else."
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Zemam's has doubled its number of employees since it opened, but initially Gebremariam relied on help from his wife, Cindy, and children Noah, 19, and Haile, 26.
"If it was not for my wife and children," he wouldn't have been successful, he said.
He's still the main chef at Zemam's, working up to 15 hours a day, starting at 5 a.m. to ensure the food is freshly made.
A few of the trademarks of Ethiopian food, he said, are that it's healthy and not greasy.
Key ingredients include a spice mixture called Berberé and a spongy, Ethiopian bread, called Injera, made with grain called teff.
Newcomers to Zemam's should know that it's BYOB — although there's a small re-corking fee for wine — and that a good entry into Zemam's food would be from one of the sampler plates, which range from $11.75 to $13.50.
By the way, Gebremariam said utensils are available upon request, but if you do choose to use your hands, use your right paw.
"Spiritually, the right side is better than the left," he said.
Zemam's
• 2731 E. Broadway. 323-9928.
• Hours: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. Closed Mondays.
