Out to Eat: Emanu

Doro-watt and vegetable platter with injera, lentils and endive appetizer, chocolate orange cake and a plate of various desserts from Emanu. (Credit: Leigh Taylor)

In Ethiopia, it is a ritual to break injera - a flat bread made from an Ethiopian grain called teff - and share food on one plate. The bread-breaking process and sharing of a common plate signifies loyalty and friendship, so it's no surprise that at Emanu in Pleasant Ridge, the air is one of sheer friendliness and hospitality.

EARTHY ATMOSPHERE

Inside, Emanu is very bright. The light yellow walls include cloth paintings. The atmosphere is very earthy, with white, gauzy window treatments and straw mats lining the floor. Windows line most of the restaurant, which makes the dining area even brighter and more inviting.

A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Our server brought water and asked if we had any questions about the menu, to which we gratefully said yes because we were overwhelmed by the foreign words and descriptions. She was eager to explain how to order, and even helped us with pronunciations, patiently correcting us as we called them back to her. The fact that she was friendly, and not annoyed by our ignorance, made us feel less intimidated and more at ease about our experience.

Since we were new to Ethiopian dining, we were open to our server's suggestions. She explained that it was easiest to choose a few meats and get a vegetable variety, so that we would have the opportunity to sample many different things. We decided to take her advice and ordered one lamb and two beef dishes, with the vegetable sampler.

When our dinner was served, we were wowed by the giant plate upon which the food was situated. It was lined with the injera - a large, round, spongy bread - and on top of it sat our beef selections, tsebhi beghie ($12) and zignie ($12); the lamb, alicha beghie ($14); and hiwswas ($13), the vegetables.

NO FORKS NEEDED

We weren't quite sure how to eat the meal, so our server came to the rescue again. Silverware is on the tables at Emanu, but it is not traditionally used when eating Ethiopian food. The meal comes with large pieces of rolled injera that are then broken into small pieces and used to pick up the food. The server endearingly laughed at my boyfriend when he used a big piece of bread and rolled a bunch of meat and vegetables in it. She told him it looked like a burrito.

The tsebhi beghie was my favorite. The meat was so tender and flavorful, as though it had been marinating in the spicy red pepper sauce for days. It was so good that I couldn't stop coming back to it immediately after trying the other things on the plate. Mixing the tsebhi beghie and the misir watt (split lentils in thick, mild red sauce) was the best combination of all.

Mixtures and combinations are what make Ethiopian food a great thing to try for an exciting experience. At Emanu, add the pleasure of the service to the alluring cuisine, and it is a combination worth trying.

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