Vegan Ethiopian BBQ Sampler for 2

To make this vegan BBQ platter, mushrooms are hickory-smoked and sauteed with onions, rosemary, and coriander. They’re served alongside a medium-spicy bernere-seasoned lentil stew (miser wot) and savory split pea stew (ater kik wot), and it’s all scooped up with fresh injera!

Smoke’N Ash BBQ just might be the only restaurant like it on earth. Founder Fasicka Hicks was born in Ethiopia and her husband Patrick hails from Waco, Texas, and when the pair met in 1997 it was a match made in barbecue heaven. They opened their restaurant in Arlington in 2018, and the following year they had the brilliant idea to incorporate the flavors of Fasicka’s homeland into the menu. The resulting fusion of traditional Ethiopian cuisine and Texas BBQ is a cross-cultural mashup for the ages, leading to it being named one of the 50 most exciting restaurants in America by the New York Times.