Week 6: San Soo Gap San - Good Luck!

Blog entry soon to follow....

Weak 4 - Ethiopian Diamond: Finger Lickin' Good!

Ethiopia is globally recognized for famine and thus its lack of fine cuisine; yet the Chicago Food Weak's experience at Ethiopian Diamond restaurant in Edgewater, IL last week had us scratching our heads and wondering what where this preposterous notion came from.

The first thing you notice at Ethiopia Diamond restaurant is the coziness of the atmosphere. Yes, this is Chicago, and you probably think of minimalistic designs, and uncomfortable furniture when picturing restaurants here, but this wasn't any Chicago restaurant.... it was an Ethiopian restaurant, 40 minutes by train outside the city of Chicago.

We were pleasantly surprised to see that the restaurant was busy for a Wednesday night. As we walked in the front door, we noticed all the restaurant patrons sitting at tables quietly eating their many dishes of meats and vegatables with the traditional Injera bread that accompanies all of the dishes. And while no one else was enjoying the traditional Ethiopian dining experience, we made sure to request a table at the mesob, which is a handmade wicker hour glass-shaped table with a designed domed cover. We then proceeded to sit around the table on stools about eight inches high, covered with what seemed to be some sort of animal fur. Perhaps monkey?

Traditionally, what happens next is warm water is poured over the fingers of your right hand (eating hand), and you wipe your hands on a cloth that is given to you to clean up before your meal. This is very important because in Ethiopian cuisine, you do not eat with forks and knives, but rather with your hands, using a piece of stretchy sour bread called Injera. We were given hand wipes.

The food? Well, let us say when was the last time you had " spinach sambusa" with "kitfo" as an appetizer? Spinach sambusa is a thin fried dough shell with minced pieces of spinach, and kitfo is freshly sliced minced beef (raw), seasoned with butter and a blend of spices called "Mitmitta".

We were blown away by both the size and taste of what came next - - the main course. Meat dishes included, "Kay Watt" (beef cubes cooked in a spicy sauce), "Doro Watt" (chicken leg marinated in lemon juice and ginger, cooked to tenderness in a spicy sauce and served with a hard boiled egg), "Yebeg Tibs" (lamb meat marinted in garlic and sauteed in onions and green pepper), and "Zilzil Tibs" (lean beef strips marinated in fresh garlic and sauteed with green peppers and onions).

On the vegetarian side, we had some of the best tasting vegetable dishes we've ever had, like"Yesmir Watt" (red lentils simmered in spicy onion and home made sauce), "Kik Alicha" (split peas cooked in mild sauce of onion, garlic and ginger), "Gomen" (a definite crowd pleaser - chopped collard greens simmered in a mild sauce of onions and garlic), and "Okra Quosta" (okra and chopped spinach simmered in a mild sauce of onions and garlic). I think Kevin liked this dish the most, because just when he thought everyone was finished eating, he jokingly commented on how the Okra Quosta would become his leftover meal. Little did he know that Kaya was not content on leaving leftovers and continued to stuff his face with delicious okra.

Oh, did we mention that Ethiopian beer is delicious and quite popular? When we asked the server for a list of their beers, she began listing them off to us... Red Stripe, Miller, Bedele, Tusker... "OH YOU HAVE TUSKER?!!!" Carolyn bursts out. "Do you also have Kili?" Unfortunately for us, they did not have Kili beer (short of Kiliminjaro), but Carolyn highly recommended we try Tusker beer (which is actually a Kenyan beer) which she tried during her time in Darfur during ADP work, and we were happy to oblige.

The beer? Let me tell you, it's better than your average American beer. Tusker was light, smooth, and left a taste of mild honey in your mouth. It was delicious! Robin and Carolyn loved it so much, they both felt compelled to pose with the famous beer bottle from Kenya.

After we thought we couldn't eat anymore, someone raised up the idea of dessert. So like the true food gourmands that we are, and to fulfill our duty of bringing all of you loyal Chicago Food Weak subscribers the full retaurant review, we decided to order the "Sambrosa Selit" (tropical seedless dates baked in a pastry crust). We thought it was ok...

Week 3 - Topolobampo: Savory Flavors Served by Snooty Waiters

This week, the Chicago Restaurant Weak headed to Topolobampo: the Chicago gem of celebrity chef Rick Bayless and allegedly one of President Obama’s favorite Chicago eateries. While the Mexican food was delicious, the service left a sour taste in our mouths.
The evening was off to a rocky start when our waiter (“Nigel”) quickly confiscated Kaya’s Club Quarters water bottle. However, we were soon distracted by the restaurants smooth yet spunky guacamole paired with jicama and cucumber. When we ran out of things to dip in it, every single one of us broke down and attacked the remaining guacamole with our spoons.
The restaurant’s signature Topolo Margarita was also surprisingly good. However, when we later tried to customize our drink order, we encountered resistance from a puzzled Nigel who “wasn’t sure what sort of taste we were trying to achieve.”
Next, we sampled four different kinds of ceviche – each with their own delectably complex mix of seafood and spice. Our entrees also did not disappoint. The lobster was excellent and the pork with mole sauce (which was highly acclaimed by Nigel) definitely lived up to all the hype.
After finishing our meals, we were a little aggravated when Nigel snidely remarked that “you should definitely have room for desert since you shared some of your entrees.” At that point, these foodies decided to call it a night-- but not before speaking to the manager about Nigel’s condescending customer service.

Bottom line: The Mexican food at Topolo was incomparable, but we felt unwelcome in the restaurant’s elitist environment.

Week 2 - Hopleaf: Two Salty, Greasy, Frite-Stained Thumbs Up!

The Hopleaf Bar is located in Andersonville on Chicago's North Side. We took the Red Line to Argyle and walked through a Vietnamese neighborhood (where we will visit again soon for food!).






















We sat down in the bar area and ordered our first round of drinks. The drink lists has over 200 different beers (half of which are Belgian)! Our selections ranged from Leffe blonde to Bell's. After we were seated for dinner, both kinds of mussels were ordered - 1) Cooked in Belgian white ale 2) Cooked in white wine. Favorites were split evenly between the group ...but we all agreed on one thing - the frites were awesome! All of us dipped some crusty bread into the broths (although some of us didn't even need bread - Kaya was slurping up the broth with a spoon). Julie and Kevin shared a Montreal style brisket sandwich as well, which was great . . . and came with more frites. Between the delicious food, awesome and varied beer, and rustic atmosphere, we gave The Hopleaf two salty, greasy, frite-stained thumbs up!

All that remained . . .

Week 1 - Avec: Breaking Bread & Rubbing Elbows with the Stars

Minimalistic, simple, and unique at the same time; Avec is a great restaurant to try different dishes if you have a food committment issue. Known for their dynamic atmoshpere and energy induced crowd, Avec is surely a must-see restaurant in Chicago.

Try the chorizo stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, or grilled octopus for appetizers. Move on to the rustic italian pasta paired with grapefruit salad to complement each other. Whatever you do, don't order 4 bottles of wine... or why not. And if you see Dr. Drew there like we did, make sure to buy him a drink. Who knows, he might just give you some free advice...