Actually, I have been wanting to experience eating Ethiopian food because it is more than interesting spicy dishes, it is an entirely different way of eating too. The food is served communally, dished out onto a large platter in the middle of a table for everyone to eat. With your hands. Yup. Uh huh.
DH was in Maine doing home maintenance, A was sick so I called my Ma to see, long-shot, if she was interested. She was! I love it. Grandma is one cool chick.
We grew up eating steak, chops and potatoes, Italian food. Chinese was Moo Goo Gai Pan. We would drive 30 miles to get something called bagels and bialis. Wow, now that was some interesting stuff! I remember when my my mother read about an authentic Szechuan restaurant, first of its kind, opening up in Fresh Pond and we went!! We had never seen anything like this, certainly not tasted anything like this. We were kids, maybe 8, 10, and this was an entirely different thing.
So my Mom has always been a bit of a food pioneer. At an age when people like her are eating a "nice piece of fish and some mashed", my Mom has been trying new foods. First there was the kalbi and kimchi at a Korean restaurant. Then there was a really traditional Chinese restaurant. A real burrito joint in Cambridge, horchata and all. Salvadorean, check. A Peruvian hole in the wall with loud music, dancing, singing (not part of the restaurant per se, just some really "happy" customers), check, check. So last night I met her in Cambridge at 7:30 (she has a navigator now and is fearless!) and we tried Ethiopian food.
The restaurant was packed. Two floors. It consisted of low little straw tables called "mesobs" that are shaped like an hourglass with a conical lid. They are brightly colored, not too large and are surrounded by wooden chairs. Here is a picture (I couldn't resist using one with a cute little girl in it!)
The waitresses had on traditional Ethiopian white gauze-like embroidered dresses. The menu was varied--most dishes are stew-like--spicy meats, chicken, beef, lamb; many vegetables too. We started with beef Sambusas (sort of like empanadas) and a chick pea dip with bread. Then we got a combination platter of chicken, beef, lamb stews, some stewed greens and salad. It looked like this--
The food is spooned onto a platter that has a large pancake-like bread, called Injera, on it. This spongey soft bread is made from the grain Teff and has a slightly sour taste. More Injera was served on the side. You eat by taking a piece of the bread between thumb and fingers and "pinching" a mouthful of food between it. Injera is gooood. We liked the dishes and ate it all. My favorite dish was the Doro Wat, a spicy chicken stew.
It was fun, and my Mom enjoyed the experience, saying that now she really has tried everything.
Well, not everything.
Tonight we take her for sushi.
L
No comments:
Post a Comment