The painted sign at the restaurant's far left and the neon in the window are both in Columbia blue, befitting a business that's served the university neighborhood for a quarter-century. Massawa's weekend brunch menu includes lesser-seen East African dishes such as kinche ($8), steamed cracked wheat cooked here with tomatoes, rosemary, and a considerable amount of clarified butter. A second brunch-only item, kitchan — "spicy homemade unleavened bread," akin to chechebsa — has been on my radar but off the menu on multiple recent visits.
Massawa
1239 Amsterdam Ave. (at 121st St.), Manhattan
212-863-0505
www.MassawaNYC.com
