Ethiopia

This weekend I decided it had been a while since I’d had any food from Africa and I had seen something about a new Ethiopian place opening just a few weeks ago so I took the culinary passport to Abugida Ethiopian Café.

The restaurant is in what used to be a house with 2 parking places in front and a lot of parking in the back. There was only one car in the lot when I got there and I wondered if they might be closed but it just turned out they weren’t busy. I walked in and there was just a guy playing with his baby at the register and he called the young lady who waited on me. Everything was freshly painted and they have décor that let’s you know it is an African restaurant plus they play African music. The menu is not extensive being just one page with both meat and vegetarian options but it is all ethnic so don’t expect to get the kids a chicken nugget meal.

The young lady who took my order asked if I’d had Ethiopian before to make sure I knew about injera and offered to answer any question. I decided to go with the Doro Wet which is the spicier of the two doro dishes.

So just up front they don’t bring silverware, you eat the meal with the injera bread by tearing off a chunk and scooping up food. I’m sure they would have brought some if requested but it’s not provided normally. The doro wet is a chicken leg in a gravy made from herbed butter, onion, garlic, berbere spices, and other stuff and a boiled egg for good measure. The white pile on the side is aybe, an Ethiopian homemade cottage cheese. When she brought the plate she carefully spooned the chicken leg and egg onto the injera and covered them in the sauce and left the balance of the sauce in the little pot. The spoon in the pot actually looked like it was made from animal horn but I didn’t confirm that.

A nice thing about this place is in addition to the injera the food is served on they also bring an extra one rolled up so you have plenty to scoop and eat with. The chicken was very tender and the egg was suitably eggy but the sauce is where all the flavor is in this dish and it is tasty and just spicy enough that I broke a light sweat before I finished. The aybe had a nice mild cheese taste, frankly better than any cottage cheese I’ve had from a store. At first I was skeptical that one chicken leg and an egg were going to be sufficient to the task but I was stuffed by the time I got though and had my coffee.

This was the set up I could see across the room plus a cappuccino machine to the right that didn’t make the picture. Honestly I expected to get some strong black coffee but that was not the deal when I agreed I wanted the Ethiopian coffee.

What happened was they came to what I thought was just a display in the corner that you see below and grabbed a cup and saucer went to the back and 10-15 minutes later I was served up a little pot of coffee plus a little brazier that had some resinous incense sprinkled on an ember.

The coffee was stronger than your average American cup of joe and while sugar was provided dairy was not part of the standard setup. I was offered milk if needed but I declined. I sat and enjoyed a couple of tiny cups of coffee and wondered why this place wasn’t busier. I enjoyed the food and coffee but honestly what made the biggest impression was the people. While I was there I had my main server but there were three other people, not counting the baby, who worked there or at least passed through the dining room and every single one of them asked if I needed anything or if they could do something for me. Very warm and welcoming and all from Ethiopia from what I could discern.

If you don’t mind getting a little handsy with your food I’d recommend trying this place out.

In case you missed it the first time here is the Tell Me More page for Ethiopia.

Ethiopia

The winter storm we had was not going to keep me from the warmer climes of my chosen Ethiopian restaurant in Charlotte. It did add a bit of adventure when I got to the Red Sea Restaurant and Bar and the parking lot was masquerading as an ice rink. There were two cars in the lot and two people on the sidewalk chiseling at the ice with inadequate shovels but loads of enthusiasm.

One of the shovel wielders was the waiter of the restaurant and the only person I saw other than the Ethiopian cab driver who was lunching there as well. That the cabby was eating there gave me hope the food would be close to what you might expect from Ethiopia. The walls had some African art on the walls and plenty of pictures of what I would assume is Ethiopia. The bar of “and Bar” fame had maybe 4 stools and looked like the façade from a tiki bar in some tourist resort.

The menu was interesting with vegetarian and meat options. I went with the Ye Beg Tebs, which was cubed lamb cooked with peppers, onions and spices. As seen in the photo below it came with a salad, a cabbage & carrot dish and some chopped collards all atop a circle of injera bread. I got a glass of honey wine to try as well.

If you haven’t experienced Ethiopian before the way you are supposed to eat it is to tear a piece of the injera and pick up your food with it. In addition in some cultures you only eat with one hand, typically the right as the left is considered unclean. Judging by the cabby in the corner that held true here as well; right hand food, left hand phone. I really didn’t get the technique of tearing and grabbing / scooping the food but the fork stayed untouched and I managed to eat until I was full. I think being just about the only person in the place made it easier dive in and not be self-conscious of eating with my hand and the inevitable messiness.

As for the food the salad lettuce and tomatoes with a drizzle of oil and vinegar. The lamb was chewy but flavorful. I asked for it medium heat since you never know what maximum is at a place and I don’t enjoy having so much spice my tongue gets sensitive enough to distinguish and flinch at every molecule consumed. There was enough heat bring a sweat to the brow so it that was a win. The cabbage and carrots had some light curry and had a bit of oil on them and they were cooked soft but no mushy. The greens were well cooked and seasoned as well an had an almost creamy texture and no bitterness you sometimes get. The injera was light and spongy fairly neutral in taste, as you’d probably expect for a food that is also a utensil.

The honey wine was an appealing gold color and as sweet as the name implies. It was light and pleasant but 1 glass was plenty.

When I was obviously done the gentleman waiting on me asked if I’d like to try their coffee and I was certainly up for that. It took a while as they brew it a cup at a time. I honestly expected one of those kid’s tea party size cups with a strong coffee in it. What he came back with was a full sized cup with some really strong coffee and a container of sugar. I took that first sip after adding a little sugar and it was awesome. He stood watching me to see how I would react and asked if it was too strong. When I said it wasn’t we spent a bit of time talking about his first experience and disappointment at getting a cup of coffee here. “It was like coffee flavored tea” was his impression.

Then we discussed the other more traditional table or mesob pictured below. It is woven basket and he pointed to a picture of a hut behind me and said since they still often lived in those they didn’t have room for tables like mine and with the wicker they could easily store it up off the floor.

For a first experience I’d have to say it was a nice one. The guy was friendly and helpful without being too chatty, the food was tasty and I got to work on my one handed, no fork, eating skills. I’d definitely recommend this place.

Here is there website. It is kind of awful but fortunately the skill is in the food and hospitality if not in the tech.

http://www.redsearestaurant.net/

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Ethiopia