{"id":11,"date":"2006-02-16T00:21:33","date_gmt":"2006-02-15T23:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11"},"modified":"2026-04-06T09:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:46:21","slug":"cafe-lalibela-tempe-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11","title":{"rendered":"Cafe Lalibela &#8211; Tempe, Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_59598\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-59598\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-59598 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 750px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 750\/711;border: 4px solid black; margin-top: 3px; margin-bottom: 3px;\" data-src=\"https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"711\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 2560w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-300x284.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 300w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-1024x970.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 1024w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-150x142.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 150w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-768x728.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 768w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-1536x1456.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 1536w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-2048x1941.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 2048w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela.jpeg?size=384x364&lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 384w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela.jpeg?size=512x485&lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 512w, https:\/\/b4385483.smushcdn.com\/4385483\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela.jpeg?size=640x607&lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1 640w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-59598\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cafe Lalibela on University in Tempe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">One of the first things that caught my attention during a 2006 visit to Cafe Lalibela were beautiful, brightly painted depictions of revered Christian events such as Christ carrying the yew hewn cross to Calvary. The art shouldn&#8217;t have surprised me. Ethiopia&#8217;s (especially the city of Lalibela&#8217;s) historical ties to Christianity span several centuries. Lalibela, the city for which the restaurant is named, is one of modern Ethiopia&#8217;s holiest cities and a center of pilgrimage for much of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">With a population of very nearly 100% Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, Lalibela is renown worldwide for its monolithic churches built during the reign of 13th century monarch Saint Lalibela for whom the city is named. The names of several places in the modern town and the general layout of the monolithic churches themselves are said to mimic names and patterns observed by Saint Lalibela during the time he spent as a youth in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">Cafe Lalibela serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, garnering several accolades (including Best Vegetarian restaurant in Phoenix by <em>New Times<\/em> magazine) for its unique cuisine. For me, it was more important that my vegan friend and colleague Karen enjoyed her introduction to Ethiopian food. By meal&#8217;s end she was making plans to scour the internet for the recipes and spices that made her inaugural Ethiopian epicurean experience memorable. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">Traditional Ethiopian cuisine consists of <em>Injera<\/em> and <em>wat<\/em>. Injera (pronounced in-jeer-ah) is a thin, crepe like bread with a very subtle sourdough-like taste. Made from <em>teff<\/em>, a grain indigenous to Ethiopia, it has a very unique spongy texture. Ethiopian meals are eaten by tearing off a piece of injera with your hands (an experience that may remind you of tearing fabric) then scooping up some wat with it (very similarly to how native New Mexicans use tortillas). Wat (pronounced what) is a stew like sauce, which can be made from vegetables or meat or both. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">Cafe Lalibela recommends that each serving consist of a combination of three items, typically one non-vegetarian dish and two vegetarian dishes (although you can create your own combination). For the convenience and edification of diners inexperienced with Ethiopian food, the menu includes several individual platters as well as suggested combinations for parties of three. A glossary of general terms will also introduce you to menu items you may never before have seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">Ethiopian food isn&#8217;t starchy or heavy and the portions at Cafe Lalibela aren&#8217;t particularly prodigious, but you&#8217;ll walk away fully sated, albeit eager for a future visit during which you&#8217;ll undoubtedly want to try something else&#8230;if you can tear yourself away from ordering the favorite that captivated you during previous visits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">Such is my dilemma. I find it ever so difficult to tear myself away from one of my favorite Ethiopian specialties, <em>shorba<\/em>, a soup made from lentils, carrots, potatoes, onions and vegetable stock. Shorba is reminiscent of the best vegetable soup you&#8217;ve ever had, but with an entirely different flavor as the vegetables seem to share, rather than compete for, your attention. The broth is hearty and absolutely delicious.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">Another favorite is the <em>Yebeg Alicha Sega Wat<\/em>, a mild lamb stew made from tender lamb cubes simmered in kibae (a clarified, spiced butter), onion, herbs and tumeric (a musky, peppery spice often used in curry). It is every bit as flavorful (albeit wholly different) than the mutton stew popularized in New Mexico by Navajos. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana;\">Diners should note that traditional Ethiopian etiquette disapproves of licking fingers while eating (even though it may be tempting to do so!).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>Cafe Lalibela<br \/>\n<\/strong>849 W. University Drive<br \/>\n<strong>Tempe, Arizona<\/strong><br \/>\n(480) 829-1939<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cafelalibela.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Website<\/strong><\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CafeLalibelaEthiopian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Facebook Page<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>LATEST VISIT<\/strong>: 16 February 2006<br \/>\n<strong># OF VISITS<\/strong>: 2<br \/>\n<strong>RATING<\/strong>: 20<br \/>\n<strong>COST<\/strong>: $$<br \/>\n<strong>BEST BET<\/strong>: Yebeg Alicha Sega Wat, Shorba, Ingera<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the first things that caught my attention during a 2006 visit to Cafe Lalibela were beautiful, brightly painted depictions of revered Christian events such as Christ carrying the yew hewn cross to Calvary. The art shouldn&#8217;t have surprised me. Ethiopia&#8217;s (especially the city of Lalibela&#8217;s) historical ties to Christianity span several centuries. Lalibela, the city for which the restaurant is named, is one of modern Ethiopia&#8217;s holiest cities and a center of pilgrimage for much of the country. With a population of very nearly 100% Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, Lalibela is renown worldwide for its monolithic churches built during the reign of 13th century monarch Saint Lalibela for whom the city is named. The names of several places in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[585,28,5647,553],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-african","category-arizona","category-rating-n-r","category-across-america"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cafe Lalibela - Tempe, Arizona - Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cafe Lalibela - Tempe, Arizona - Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the first things that caught my attention during a 2006 visit to Cafe Lalibela were beautiful, brightly painted depictions of revered Christian events such as Christ carrying the yew hewn cross to Calvary. The art shouldn&#8217;t have surprised me. Ethiopia&#8217;s (especially the city of Lalibela&#8217;s) historical ties to Christianity span several centuries. Lalibela, the city for which the restaurant is named, is one of modern Ethiopia&#8217;s holiest cities and a center of pilgrimage for much of the country. With a population of very nearly 100% Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, Lalibela is renown worldwide for its monolithic churches built during the reign of 13th century monarch Saint Lalibela for whom the city is named. The names of several places in&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nmgastronome\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-02-15T23:21:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-06T15:46:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2426\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gil Garduno\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gil Garduno\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gil Garduno\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/423b9c3eeeb199e43ab4f1f584fa67bf\"},\"headline\":\"Cafe Lalibela &#8211; Tempe, Arizona\",\"datePublished\":\"2006-02-15T23:21:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T15:46:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11\"},\"wordCount\":642,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2006\\\/02\\\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"African\",\"Arizona\",\"Rating: N\\\/R (Not Rated)\",\"United States\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11\",\"name\":\"Cafe Lalibela - Tempe, Arizona - Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2006\\\/02\\\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2006-02-15T23:21:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-06T15:46:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2006\\\/02\\\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2006\\\/02\\\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2426,\"caption\":\"Cafe Lalibela on University in Tempe\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?p=11#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cafe Lalibela &#8211; Tempe, Arizona\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\",\"description\":\"Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico&#039;s Sesquipedalian Sybarite.  1,522  Restaurant Reviews, More Than 14,900 Visitor Comments...And Counting!\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/423b9c3eeeb199e43ab4f1f584fa67bf\",\"name\":\"Gil Garduno\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Gil Garduno\"},\"description\":\"Since 2008, the tagline on Gil\u2019s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog has invited you to \u201cFollow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico\u2019s Sesquipedalian Sybarite.\u201d To date, more than six million visitors have trusted (or at least visited) my recommendations on more than 1,300 restaurant reviews. Please take a few minutes to tell me what you think. Whether you agree or disagree with me, I'd love to hear about it.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/%20\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/nmgastronome\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/nmgastronome\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.nmgastronome.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cafe Lalibela - Tempe, Arizona - Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cafe Lalibela - Tempe, Arizona - Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","og_description":"One of the first things that caught my attention during a 2006 visit to Cafe Lalibela were beautiful, brightly painted depictions of revered Christian events such as Christ carrying the yew hewn cross to Calvary. The art shouldn&#8217;t have surprised me. Ethiopia&#8217;s (especially the city of Lalibela&#8217;s) historical ties to Christianity span several centuries. Lalibela, the city for which the restaurant is named, is one of modern Ethiopia&#8217;s holiest cities and a center of pilgrimage for much of the country. With a population of very nearly 100% Ethiopian Orthodox Christian, Lalibela is renown worldwide for its monolithic churches built during the reign of 13th century monarch Saint Lalibela for whom the city is named. The names of several places in&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11","og_site_name":"Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nmgastronome\/","article_published_time":"2006-02-15T23:21:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-06T15:46:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":2426,"url":"http:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gil Garduno","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gil Garduno","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11"},"author":{"name":"Gil Garduno","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/423b9c3eeeb199e43ab4f1f584fa67bf"},"headline":"Cafe Lalibela &#8211; Tempe, Arizona","datePublished":"2006-02-15T23:21:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T15:46:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11"},"wordCount":642,"commentCount":4,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg","articleSection":["African","Arizona","Rating: N\/R (Not Rated)","United States"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11","name":"Cafe Lalibela - Tempe, Arizona - Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2006-02-15T23:21:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-06T15:46:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Lalibela-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":2426,"caption":"Cafe Lalibela on University in Tempe"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?p=11#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cafe Lalibela &#8211; Tempe, Arizona"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/","name":"Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","description":"Follow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico&#039;s Sesquipedalian Sybarite.  1,522  Restaurant Reviews, More Than 14,900 Visitor Comments...And Counting!","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#organization","name":"Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"Gil&#039;s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/423b9c3eeeb199e43ab4f1f584fa67bf","name":"Gil Garduno","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/140571d25459ad5954bce10ffc2f8c8d21c92edf345ea30e6145c3e68a417af1?s=96&r=pg","caption":"Gil Garduno"},"description":"Since 2008, the tagline on Gil\u2019s Thrilling (And Filling) Blog has invited you to \u201cFollow the Culinary Ruminations of New Mexico\u2019s Sesquipedalian Sybarite.\u201d To date, more than six million visitors have trusted (or at least visited) my recommendations on more than 1,300 restaurant reviews. Please take a few minutes to tell me what you think. Whether you agree or disagree with me, I'd love to hear about it.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/%20","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nmgastronome\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nmgastronome\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59599,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions\/59599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nmgastronome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}