Monday, November 10, 2008

Somalia House of Coffee- Indianapolis






We think that it's fun to go to the Indianapolis Ethnic Food Restaurants site and pick the ethnicity that sounds most intriguing to us that day and go to one of the restaurants. Last week, we chose Somalian and decided to visit the first restaurant listed, Cafe Hargeisa. Once we went to the address (5636 W. Washington), we discovered that it is now called Somalia House of Coffee.

We stopped in this unusual little cafe to try their sambosas. Located near the airport, this place is a favorite of African cab drivers who need a little strong coffee and a quick snack.

The sambosas, $1.50 each, are meat and veggie filled buns. The thinly sliced carrot threads are crisp and you can taste the cardamom and cumin in the seasoned beef. They are then deep fried and ready to go. They offer both beef and fish sambosas, but on the day we went, the fish sambosas were sold out so the clerk kindly gave us a couple of deep fried veggie patties that were also very good. He advised us that we should salt them, but after a quick taste, we decided they were perfect they way they were served.

This is a small, casual hangout. You order at the counter, and the sambosas are ready at the counter. While they do have a few tables, the atmosphere is more of a "grab it and go". They have strong coffee drinks on the menu, an espresso or breve can be prepared if you want, and soda is available in cans from a cooler.

Next time you find yourself near the airport, you may want to get a little taste of Somalia.

Somali House of Coffee on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for reviewing this. I've driven by this place twice, and both times the parking lot and surrounding parking were completely full (of mostly taxis), so I didn't venture in.

You've inspired me to try again.

Tom B.