I just got back from a fantastic night in our Northwest Neighborhood, and had to sit down and blog about it as soon as I got home.

Ever since the Queen of Sheeba opened several months ago, I’ve wanted to try them out. I had met the husband and wife team, Bill and Lojo Washington, at many events over the years as they ran Queen of Sheeba as a take-out restaurant since 2006. Their food was always tasty and fresh and I was excited to hear that they were opening up an Ethiopian restaurant.

Everything about the Queen of Sheeba was very authentic, from the art on the walls, to the Ethiopan beer, to eating the meal without silverware.

The menu is simple, with two meat dishes, and a variety of vegetable dishes. We were advised by friends to get one of the vegetable platters which allows you to sample, 3 or 5 different vegetable dishes. I also ordered one of the meat dishes. Prices are very reasonable ranging from $10 – $15 for an entree.

After we finished up – we headed over to the Sunset Lounge which was open for a special Jazz event that was thrown by the Community Redevelopment Agency.

CRA director Jon Ward explains more about this event.

90 seconds with…CRA Sunset Lounge Concert from City of West Palm Beach on Vimeo.

I am a big fan of the Sunset Lounge and am excited about it’s history and the plans that the City of West Palm Beach have for bringing it back to it’s former glory. I want to write more about this at a later date, but suffice it to say that the event was impressive. The venue was packed and the music fantastic.

I had a great time tonight and I look forward to seeing this area continue to grow into a vibrant part of our downtown.

Clematis