When deciding where Verbatim staff wanted to go for our following food review, the staff thought that it would be best to visit a local black-owned restaurant in Omaha in order to bring attention and awareness to Black History Month. The Cenovic siblings highly recommended Lalibela, a black-owned, traditional Ethiopian restaurant located just past Dundee on Saddle Creek road. They loved the food, and Jack recommended the mango nectarine juice when we visit. We were excited to embark on a new culinary adventure. During one of our shared free periods, the Verbatim staff visited Lalibela, just a couple of minutes away.

The Verbatim staff drove to Lalibela. The drive was not long since the location was fairly close to BT. When we walked in, we noticed that the inside of the restaurant was small but displayed many Ethiopian-style decorations.

Because Lalibela had just opened, we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. When we sat down, we were delighted to see a packet of information about Ethiopian culture and food. The packet of information gave us insight into injera, which is an Ethiopian staple bread that the meat and vegetables are plated with. We learned how injera is used and made. Additionally, we were handed menus, and Lalibela offers a variety of traditional Ethiopian dishes that are meant to be shared. Unfortunately, we were not aware of this, and Kidman, Kate, and Akshay all ordered individual plates. When we ordered, there was only one cook working. The food took some time to come, but we ordered three dishes that are meant to be shared. The long wait was understandable. When the food arrived, it was wonderful. To our surprise, the plates were enormous and had many several aspects, from different sauces to a variety of vegetables. Additionally, one of the workers turned on Ethiopian music to enjoy while eating. We were not given utensils because in Ethiopian culture the meat and vegetables are meant to be eaten by breaking off pieces of injera. The meat for our meals was cooked well and the sauces complemented each other. The ripping off injera to pick up the meat made it a little bit messy but the taste was delicious. We ended up taking to-go boxes because the portions were so large. 

Calvin: I ordered the mango juice and the Ethiopian coffee. Jack Cenovic highly recommended trying it before I went. After I ordered, the man working there said they, unfortunately, did not have Ethiopian coffee. When I received the juice, I was a little surprised by the size of the bottle. It was larger than I had expected. Akshay mentioned that he had seen the mango juice in an Indian supermarket that he had been to before, which was interesting. I thought that the mango juice was going to be made in-house, but it wasn’t. This wasn’t a bad thing, however, because I thought that the juice was extremely delicious. I wasn’t able to finish it during the time I was there, but I later took it home and made smoothies with it.

Kidman: I ordered the dry tibs. The plate was humongous to my surprise. I enjoyed eating the meat, salad, and injera together. The peppers added a lot of flavor to the meat. The green sauce also complimented the dish well by adding spice. My only critique is that the service was a bit long. Additionally, some items were not available.

Kate: I ordered the regular tibs. My plate was also very large. The guy working there made sure we were comfortable and checked on us. The sauce complimented the meat, and I really enjoyed the pairing of the injera and the vegetables. The sauce did have some spice, but it wasn’t too spicy. Paying was also easy and I did not have any troubles. Overall, I would highly recommend Lalibela, and it was a unique experience.

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