A Guide to the Best of Southern California : MOVABLE FEAST: TAKE-HOME HOLIDAY FARE : Ethiopian Ingredients

THAT BLOCK of South Fairfax Avenue that has become a delightful little enclave of Ethiopian restaurants now includes a new market called Merkato. It stocks everything you’d need to prepare an Ethiopian feast: from berbere, the signature spice of many dishes, and a wide variety of pulses to excellent beers from Africa and Ethiopia and injera , the addictive, spongy, tortilla-like bread that forms the basis of every meal. Merkato, 1036 1/2 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 935-1775.