Ethiopian Feast

Neither Isaac nor I was in the mood to go to the grocery store/cook last night so we decided to treat ourselves and try Ethiopian food for the first time! We’d never heard of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant before but we had a coupon and the online reviews were good so we took the short drive downtown to check the place out.

I’m not going to lie, I couldn’t stop thinking about the movie Along Came Polly and Ben Stiller’s experience with Ethiopian cuisine, however our meal was much more enjoyable.

The menu explained the basics of Ethiopian food including much detail on their staple starch, a spongy bread called injera. It is traditionally made from teff, a tiny grain that is loaded with considerable amounts of protein, calcium, and iron. Best of all, injera is gluten-free.

The dough is fermented and baked into big, spongy, porous and slightly sour flatbreads. Ours came out slightly warm, but cooled off to room temperature as we ate. One large piece of injera is always served under the food, as a plate that soaks up the flavors. A separate dish of injera is also served on the side and you break off pieces to scoop everything up.

Ethiopian food is typically served family style, with a big plate in the middle of the table, and you eat with your hands and the injera. Isaac ordered the meat combination platter. I ordered the vegetarian combination platter. And, they both came out on one large plate with the meat in the middle. It was kind of annoying to have all of the vegetable dishes surrounding the meat. The smell of meat was over powering, it was difficult to keep them from touching, and Isaac was eating chicken and lamb off the bone over top of the platter (which got a little messy). It wasn’t a huge deal, but next time I think I will request the meat and veggies to be separate.

The vegetable combination comes with Misir (spilt red lentils cooked in red pepper- this was spicy), Yekik Alicha (mild yellow spilt peas cooked with onions, garlic, and sliced green peppers), Fasolia, Yeabesha Gomen (collard greens steamed and delicately seasoned with garlic and chilies), and Tikel Gomen (cabbage, potato, and carrot simmered in mild sauce with garlic, ginger, onion, and green chillies).

I got all the dishes mentioned above along with a roasted beet salad and steamed pumpkin/root vegetable. I’m so happy I ordered the platter because I got to taste almost every vegetable dish on the menu and everything was really flavorful. Some dishes were spicy and others were a bit sour, but it was all very delicious! My favorites were the beet salad, cabbage, and spicy lentils.

Isaac’s combo came with a lamb, beef, and chicken dish. The chicken had a boiled egg in it (the white oval in the center of the plate).

Overall, the Ethiopian adventure was really fun – eating with our hands took a little while to get used to, but ended up being an intimate experience to share together. I’d definitely recommend Ethiopian cuisine to my friends, particularly those that follow vegetarian, vegan or gluten free diets as they had a variety of options for everyone!!

Have you tried Ethiopian cuisine? What are your favorite dishes and thoughts about eating with your hands?

Local readers: Have you been to Sheba or another Ethiopian restaurant in Richmond – which do you think is the best?

-Brittany

Tagged as: Ethiopian Food, Vegetarian Platter