A Taste of Ethiopia

Now, who has tried Ethiopian food before?

It seems like it's a rather uncommon cuisine, no? Personally, I hadn't even heard of it until just recently, let alone having the idea of trying it! But I figure it's summer and I want to try new things, so what the hay! Let's do this!

My friend Andrew and I went to an Ethiopian place called Ras Dashen on a Tuesday near the end of July. This restaurant is located on the north side of Chicago. I had Ethiopian once before this experience and it was Andrew's first time. Needless to say, we were like "noobs" in a game going into this restaurant.

The menu was very helpful, because it had instructions on ordering and gave a little insight into Ethiopian culture and how to order the food. The waitress that we had...not so much. She seemed in a rush...though we were the only customers there. Points docked there. If you would like to view the menu, click here.

We did the "Omnivore Dinner for Two" (3 entrees and 3 sides) and it turned out to be more than enough. This is literally a "hands on" experience because that's all the utensils you get! (You could ask for utensils but why fight the system, right?)

First off, injera is the bread that they serve with their dishes. It's a spongy bread that has a sour hint to it after you eat it.


They place the entrees and sides on top of a large piece of injera and serve it on a platter, as shown by my guest of honor, Andrew:

Before we get to the entrees, let's introduce you to the sides.


The first side - Misser Salata - This is a dish of chilled lentils with red onions and colorful bell peppers. The flavor was tangy and complemented the injera well.


The second side - Qosta - Very simple dish of spinach cooked with onions, garlic and spices. It had a lighter taste compared to the misser salata. I guess you could say it was more bland but I thought it brought out the flavor of the injera. Plus, I like spinach so to me, it was good!


The third and last side - Diblik Atkilt - A mixture of green beans, potatoes, zuchini, and carrots stewed with tomatoes. One of the heavier side dishes because of the potatoes and there was an egg in there too. I liked the spices a lot for this dish, so I would recommend it.

Now, onto the entrees~


The first entree and my personal favorite - Dorot Wat - This dish is chicken and egg cooked in berbere sauce. It is apparently also known as the "national dish of Ethiopia". Now, of course if the menu says that...it was something that couldn't be passed up!


The next entree - Yebeg Dereq Tibs - A dish of lamb tibs pan-fried with onions, garlic green peppers and rosemary. For this dish, I really only had the sauce since I didn't feel like eating too much meat, but I could taste the lamb in the sauce. They did a good job making sure every portion had its unique flavoring.


The last entree - Kitfo Tere - This is a fancier dish with Ethiopian steak tartare seasoned with spiced butter (also known as "kibe") and red pepper blend (also known as "mitmia"). I enjoyed this dish but the meat was just a tad too dry for me. The seasoning was very delicious though.

And that makes all of the dishes! I don't think it'd be too fair for me to rate the dishes since I'm not experienced with Ethiopian food but it's definitely something I'd recommend.

Ethiopian food definitely has an exotic taste. It's nothing like the food I've eaten before. It's a good cuisine to try with friends and/or family since it focuses on communal dishes. I say have fun with it and try it out!

Next time, I've got to take Jenny and Silvia with me for sure!

So much for keeping things short, huh?

Now how's that for a venture? ;)

-Van "Venture"

P.S. A great exotic fruit to try. I got this the other day at Tai Nam Market in Argyle, also on the north side of Chicago.

Dragonfruit