Muzita Bistro- University Heights, San Diego

Wednesday I was feeling rather spontaneous and as usual was spending some time in the morning researching restaurants. I've been doing this since high school. Sometime during sophomore year I became fascinated with the Food Network and cooking. My mom could barely scramble an egg until recently (now she's quite the little wanna-be Martha Stewart), and my dad mainly enjoyed eating out unless he was manning the grill. He can make some insane lamb chops!!

This new hobby coincided with my interest in health/nutrition as I sought to loose some weight that had appeared once I hit puberty- ugh! I grew up eating quite healthy (not the typical "Merica" way), but I'd never really cared about, nor understood, the impact of nutrition on our health and the degree of processing and modifying the majority of our foods undergo. A few months later, I was so into it that I went through a handful of books every couple of weeks and even convinced my mom to drive me to Orlando (I was in Tampa at the time at Saddlebrook Tennis Academy) to visit Le Cordon Bleu :)

Anyway, back on point...I was looking for a unique place that also served healthy food. Enter Muzita Bistro. One look at the menu http://www.letseat.at/muzita/menu and you quickly realize why other countries don't have the obesity problem the US does. Muzita serves Eritrean/Ethiopian food, which is very similar to Indian food, in my opinion- lots of spices yielding a ton of flavor, and concentrated on vegetables and rice. Their "bread" called injera is somewhere between a crepe and a pancake and often used as a utensil. The entrees are meant to be "family style" but they will also accommodate personal selections.

If you're a vegetarian or vegan this place is definitely for you. They even have a key on their menu highlighting meat free dishes. For the rest of us, they have a variety of options: lamb, free range chicken, "natural" beef, shrimp, and fresh fish.

I ordered the beet salad which was pretty straightforward- too much so, actually. Other than the cute presentation, it was nothing more than steamed beets with a subtle hint that they'd been marinated with onion and something else. It was good, but I wouldn't order again as I can make that at home in 5mins.







My entree, however, did not disappoint. Normally I would've tried the lamb, but I'm still seriously full from Franklin's that I can only handle seafood right now :/ So, I went with the prawns....

If you've ever dined with me you probably noticed my love for salt. Thank goodness I have low blood pressure and am an athlete! It runs in the family though- any meal with us leads to a fight over the salt shaker until one of us finally gets up and grabs more from other tables. Yes, I'm that person at the snobby restaurants with 5 different size forks that "insults" the chef by asking for the salt. Sorry, not sorry.

Well, at Muzita I didn't need a sprinkle of salt at all!! Dare I say it was a bit on the salty side? Nonetheless, I was very pleased with the taste and portion size. Four prawns, with a side of stewed vegetables, steamed white rice, and house salad. You must mix the four components of the dish to get the most of it- especially with steamed rice. Everything was well cooked, and the lettuce was crisp with a light dressing.

My overall opinion is that I would return to Muzita but only for lunch. My entree was $16 and the beet salad $9. The lunch prices in the $10-15 for entrees are much more appropriate. That salad should be $5 and the prawns $10-11.

The place itself is quaint. As the picture shows, it's a little cottage, very clean and "modern" on the inside with a bar area as well. The waiters all seemed happy and attentive so no complaints on the service.