Last night was a fun adventure. My friend Eddie made plans for Rajiv, myself and another friend to check out this Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. The three of them had never had Ethiopian food before and while I have had it twice in years past, I discovered later that night that I had never truly had the authentic thing until now...just the cheap Americanized substitute.
Ras Dashen (pictured here) in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, however, proved to be a cultural delight. Moderately lit for a night-time atmosphere with beautiful African paintings along the walls, we were seated at four chairs with a cool looking traditional Ethiopian "table" of sorts in between us (see far left, underneath the paintings). At first, I wondered if sitting in these chairs without much of a table would be conducive for our party of four dinner. I'm glad we did though because we got the overall authentic experience. We each selected an entree and had about 12 different items to choose from for our side dishes, as we were given three side dishes as part of our dinner to share with each other.
For my entree, I decided on the "#36," Asa Tibs: boneless pan seared tilapia fillets cooked with ginger, garlic, and Ethiopian spices. I was originally going to go for the alternate tilapia dish that was cooked with the spicy Ethiopian spice/sauce berbere, but our server convinced me to go with the 36 instead. I'm glad she changed my mind because it was simply DELICIOUS...the best tilapia I've had in a LONG time!!!!!!!!!!
For the sides, we decided on:
1.) The Qosta, which was spinach cooked with onions, garlic and spices. This was my favorite side. I think I ended up hogging most of this side for myself. hahaha.
2.) Diblik atkilt: green beans, potatoes, zucchini and carrots. It was ok, but I wasn't as big of a fan of this one.
3.) Kik alicha, a mix of yellow split peas cooked with onions, garlic, ginger and green peppers that closely resembled the consistency and appearance of humus, but was more mild/bland tasting.
Before our entrees were brought out, our server brought out a big round metal tray with a thinly spread spongy "bread" called injera which served as our 'plate' in traditional Ethiopian culinary custom. Both the side orders and our entrees were poured onto the injera, including a small basket of thicker injera wrapped in a burrito-like fashion for us to rip apart and sop up the variety of culinary selections (the Ethiopian culture eats with their hands).
I forgot how much fun and interesting it can be to have a new and eclectic cultural experience. Between the food, eating with my fingers (more fun than I thought it would be!), and listening to the live band playing (a cross between reggae and jazz), it was a unique way to spend a Saturday night. I kept thinking of my brother Alex, who would have LOVED this place. I'm not sure if he's had Ethiopian food before, but like me, he's always up for trying something new....especially culturally.
On a funny sidenote, as we were getting ready to leave I noticed a small framed map on the wall near the front of the restaurant. Curious to see what it was showing, I approached the map for closer scrutiny. It had a world map of female obesity trends around the world.
Ethiopia's stats? 0. 0%. Another reason to love Ethiopian food, in my opinion. :)
Ras Dashen (pictured here) in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, however, proved to be a cultural delight. Moderately lit for a night-time atmosphere with beautiful African paintings along the walls, we were seated at four chairs with a cool looking traditional Ethiopian "table" of sorts in between us (see far left, underneath the paintings). At first, I wondered if sitting in these chairs without much of a table would be conducive for our party of four dinner. I'm glad we did though because we got the overall authentic experience. We each selected an entree and had about 12 different items to choose from for our side dishes, as we were given three side dishes as part of our dinner to share with each other.
For my entree, I decided on the "#36," Asa Tibs: boneless pan seared tilapia fillets cooked with ginger, garlic, and Ethiopian spices. I was originally going to go for the alternate tilapia dish that was cooked with the spicy Ethiopian spice/sauce berbere, but our server convinced me to go with the 36 instead. I'm glad she changed my mind because it was simply DELICIOUS...the best tilapia I've had in a LONG time!!!!!!!!!!
For the sides, we decided on:
1.) The Qosta, which was spinach cooked with onions, garlic and spices. This was my favorite side. I think I ended up hogging most of this side for myself. hahaha.
2.) Diblik atkilt: green beans, potatoes, zucchini and carrots. It was ok, but I wasn't as big of a fan of this one.
3.) Kik alicha, a mix of yellow split peas cooked with onions, garlic, ginger and green peppers that closely resembled the consistency and appearance of humus, but was more mild/bland tasting.
Before our entrees were brought out, our server brought out a big round metal tray with a thinly spread spongy "bread" called injera which served as our 'plate' in traditional Ethiopian culinary custom. Both the side orders and our entrees were poured onto the injera, including a small basket of thicker injera wrapped in a burrito-like fashion for us to rip apart and sop up the variety of culinary selections (the Ethiopian culture eats with their hands).
I forgot how much fun and interesting it can be to have a new and eclectic cultural experience. Between the food, eating with my fingers (more fun than I thought it would be!), and listening to the live band playing (a cross between reggae and jazz), it was a unique way to spend a Saturday night. I kept thinking of my brother Alex, who would have LOVED this place. I'm not sure if he's had Ethiopian food before, but like me, he's always up for trying something new....especially culturally.
On a funny sidenote, as we were getting ready to leave I noticed a small framed map on the wall near the front of the restaurant. Curious to see what it was showing, I approached the map for closer scrutiny. It had a world map of female obesity trends around the world.
Ethiopia's stats? 0. 0%. Another reason to love Ethiopian food, in my opinion. :)
2 comments:
Sounds like a great night, I haven't ever had Ethiopian food myself. Though I did get to try some real East Indian food while I was in Seattle. Just wait till you get there, your going to love that place.
Cool blog Kate....we all need to eat this way eh?
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