Curious about Ethiopian Food? Let This Inviting Spot Lead the Way
The welcome sets the tone, and the flavors do the rest.
I got this text from Staci, a long-time friend and reader. You’ll see why it made me sit up and take notice:
As you know, service—or really, hospitality—matters deeply to me. And not just the tuxedoed maitre d’ routine. Rather, it’s the kind found in any place, grand or humble, that can give you the feeling that in a world full of chaos and challenges, someone has decided to make this little corner—your table—the place where everything feels just right for a while.
Indeed, Staci’s son, Adam, nailed it. Habesha Ethio Eritrean Restaurant offers “the kind of service Wini likes.” Even more so after I learned just what kind of chaos and challenges owner Bashat Gutama had faced before she landed here to give us this little place where everything feels just right.
Review of Habesha Ethio Eritrean Restaurant
3500 Merle Hay Rd.
Open for lunch and dinner every day except Wednesday.
On my recent visit to Habesha, which opened last spring, I walked in to find my dining buddy Jeanne already there, chatting easily with the owner. The owner greeted me and lingered just long enough for a warm welcome—no hovering, simply the kind of touch that lets you know someone’s glad you’re here.
I got the idea she knew that it was no fun for a single woman to sit at a table by herself and wait for a friend (even only for a few minutes). And it was as if she knew that two Midwestern-born women might not know what they’re walking into at a place called Habesha Ethio Eritrean Restaurant, and she wanted us to know we were in good hands.
If only more restaurants could land that first moment. It’s remarkable how quickly you can relax and breathe easy when you sense things might just go your way.
Soon, her husband, Abddsa Tmie, came by and asked if we had questions. Well, yes…when the menu looks like this…
…and when it’s been 30-plus years since I last had Ethiopian food (at the wonderful but erstwhile Red Sea Ethiopian restaurant in Washington, D.C.). We certainly did have questions.
Tmie suggested the Habesha Special Vegan Combo ($21.99), as it would bring a variety of dishes to try on one platter to share. We also opted for the Beef Alicia, featuring beef simmered in onions, ginger, turmeric, rosemary, and tomatoes and then sauced with awaze—a bold, multi-spice sauce at the heart of much Ethiopian cooking.
First and foremost, let’s talk about the injera. That’s the tan, spongy flatbread that’s rolled up alongside the beef dish and served underneath the vegan combo in the photos, above. I remember it well from my D.C. foray all those years ago. Ethiopian food is one of the most communal ways to eat: you tear off pieces of injera and use them to scoop up each bite from platters set in the middle of the table—no forks needed, because the bread becomes the vessel from plate to mouth. (You’ll be offered plates and large spoons to serve yourself portions, if you wish.)
The bread itself has an astringency that hovers around sour—it’s a spark that complements the deeply warm spices of the food well. However, you can also order rice, if you like.
For the uninitiated, the easiest way to describe Ethiopian food is to mention that it shares some similarities with Indian cuisine. Both draw on complex spice blends—using turmeric, cardamom, ginger, and cumin, to name a few—and bring long-simmered stews to the table. Ethiopia, however, relies more heavily on the injera for its hearty starch (versus rice and other breads in India), and has plenty of its own spices.
It was the latter that made the food here truly stand apart. While I enjoyed flavors I already knew and loved—a garlicky angle to the chickpeas, a fiery-tinged warmth to the lentils, a spark of ginger here and there—I also tasted things I’d never quite encountered before: a singular smoky earthiness in one bite, a unique bitterness in another, and often a citrusy brightness lingering on the finish. Once home, I looked up some of the ingredients listed on the menu: black cardamom, black cumin, and other spices you just don’t see on most supermarket shelves helped explain my sense of discovering new flavor sensations.
What I loved most, though, was the sheer variety. I often grow weary of a heaping plate of anything—a pasta dish, a giant steak, more chicken than anyone needs in one sitting—and that monotony that creeps in after a few bites. With this cuisine, I can’t ever imagine growing bored. Order food to share, and the variety will keep you engaged throughout the meal.
A sense of hospitality wove its way through the entire meal. Both Tmie and Gutama checked in now and then to answer questions and make sure we had everything we needed and that we were comfortable (Did the incense bother us? Not at all. May I bring you a cup of my ginger tea? Yes, please.)
After we asked our umpteenth question, Tmie offered to take us over to the grocery store, a few doors down, to show us some of the ingredients. After lunch, we did just that, enjoying a guided tour of the rows of spices, the bags of teff flour, and staples such as the clarified butter, infused with spices, that is a cornerstone of this cooking. It all enhanced my admiration for all that goes into this cuisine.
The Story Behind Habesha
I never identify myself as a food writer when I go out to dine, as I do not want special treatment. But later, after we toured the little Ethiopian grocery store a few doors down, Jeanne and I decided to go back to the restaurant and ask Bashat Gutama more about her journey.
Because this post is getting long, I’ve posted her story elsewhere on my site. I’ve kept it brief, and if you’d like to read it, head here. Gutama’s story will deepen your appreciation for this restaurant, and for her commitment to making this little corner of Merle Hay Road such an inviting place to stop for a while.
Thanks for the review. A place I will try with my guys’ Wednesday lunch group after Thanksgiving. We are so lucky in Des Moines to have such a wide variety of ethnic restaurants. Thai, Mexican, Vietnamese, Peruvian, Salvador, Italian, African, Indian, Ethiopian and probably some others I have left out.
Ok. I’ve got to try the place. One of my favorites is Ethiopian