Step beyond modest facade for delicious Ethiopian cuisine
With food, first impressions don’t always have the last word. For evidence, I’d cite the initial mealtime appeal of a grazing cow, a live lobster and a freshly excavated potato.
I could add Addis Restaurant to that list.
Pulling up to Addis Restaurant after a good friend mentioned that he’d eaten delicious Ethiopian food there, my first impression was that describing its exterior as “humble” would be charitable. Once inside, though, I discovered that my pal was right. Behind a rather uninviting facade, Addis is a surprisingly festive little restaurant that serves vibrant, inexpensive and delicious food.
On the floor near its entrance, visitors are greeted by the paraphernalia necessary for an Ethiopian coffee ceremony that includes a frequently smoking incense burner dispensing the heady scent of smoldering frankincense.
Ethiopian culture is celebrated on pennants and posters lining the blueand-white walls of the homey, generally bustling main dining room. And it’s showcased in often-riveting videos on the lone TV.
Newcomers to Ethiopian food might be understandably confused by their first glance at Addis’s menu. But once you get up to speed, ordering and eating is a breeze.
The first thing to know is that injera — a spongy, honeycomb-patterned sourdough flatbread made with fermented teff (a highly nutritious grain) — is key to the cuisine. It functions as both edible plate and utensil because food is served upon, and scooped up with, injera. (I usually ask for a “securityblanket” fork, then hardly use it.)
Second, with a few exceptions, the menu can Chicken zillzill, left, and doro wot mahbarawi at Addis Restaurant 3750 Cleveland Ave.