Is there a rumbly in your tumbly, HumCo? Because today your Lost Coast Outpost launches its newest regular feature LUNCHED, where you, our beloved readers get to see what we, your beloved LoCO, ate that day ‘round ‘bout noon time. (Note: bloggers ain’t exactly breakin’ the bank, so this will likely be a sporadic addition to the LoCO lineup.)

After a morning sucking up the wifi at Ramone’s in Old Town, my scheduled Pho lunch date clued me in that we should switch it up ‘cuz Humboldt had just birthed a new (first?) Ethiopian restaurant. Well, then! Plans were changed.

The Ethiopian International Café occupies the space on Fourth Street that once housed La Chaparrita (Eureka restaurant aficionados will recall the uproar when that establishment was given the boot in favor of the marijuana dispensary that never was. It’s a restaurant again.) The new tenants have repainted (you’ll smell it) the interior to resemble the bottom two-thirds of the Ethiopian flag (you’ll see it).

Admittedly, I can probably count the times on one hand I’ve eaten Ethiopian food in my earth years, and it’s been awhile, so I’d be kind of an ass if I tried to declare definitively whether EIC is comparatively good or not. I think it was OK. I mean, I ate ‘til I was full, so there’s that. FWIW, I went safe and chowed on Doro Tibs, or (from the menu) boneless marinated chicken chicken sauteed with onions, jalapeño and fresh garlic. Oh, here’s a picture:

(Click pic to biggify.)

I think I kinda blew it. My wiser dining companion opted for the noncommittal Meat Combo, smaller portions of — I’m about to read the menu again — Doro Alicha (chicken in smokey turmeric sauce), Sega Alicha (beef in turmeric sauce) and Gomen be Sega (lamb ribs with garlic and ginger). Look at that now:

(Same drill.)

See? If I’d taken that path I could’ve tried more things. Me = dumb. In both cases, and with a good number of the dishes there, you get a healthy portion of injera, a crepe-ish spongy flatbread. If you’ve not encountered that, just think “Ethiopian naan.” Yeah.

Anywho, as the banner out front indicates, this is the “Grand Opening” week at the Ethiopian International Café which is located at 210 Fourth St., Eureka. You are now informed. Consider thyself LUNCHED.