“Mamma Desta” and Ethiopian food in the U.S(vox.com)
vox.com
“Mamma Desta” and Ethiopian food in the U.S
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2020/3/28/21195850/ethiopian-food-washington-dc-history-desta-bairu
68 comments
Their coffee is second to none. I only drink Ethiopian coffee when possible. Amazing flavor.
Not only the flavour: I find that a lot of coffees make me feel slightly ill after drinking, but not with Ethiopian beans.
Selam Restaurant in San Jose is where the Ethiopian Uber drivers hang out on breaks. The food is delicious, the injera bread is less sour than other places.
Looks great, thanks! I see a couple of trips to San Jose in my (hopefully) immediate future.
They’re quite popular, too: last time we visited they had an hour wait to be seated.
Zeni is delicious.
Mama Desta's in Chicago was second-rate, though I'm still sad to hear they closed (I left in 2009).
The hookup spot there is Ethiopian Diamond, the setting for some of my fondest memories of that city. The East Bay has many respectable options but none ever quite measured up.
I should have skipped reading this before dinner; there's one Ethiopian restaurant in my entire state and air travel to the island which has it is sadly restricted.
Great little slice of life article, only slightly marred by the author's feigned outrage that restaurant critics of the era referred to Desta Bairu as "Mamma Desta". Was it misogyny, in the era of Julia Child's celebrity, or the fact that the restaurant was called "Mamma Desta"? We may never know!
The hookup spot there is Ethiopian Diamond, the setting for some of my fondest memories of that city. The East Bay has many respectable options but none ever quite measured up.
I should have skipped reading this before dinner; there's one Ethiopian restaurant in my entire state and air travel to the island which has it is sadly restricted.
Great little slice of life article, only slightly marred by the author's feigned outrage that restaurant critics of the era referred to Desta Bairu as "Mamma Desta". Was it misogyny, in the era of Julia Child's celebrity, or the fact that the restaurant was called "Mamma Desta"? We may never know!
I didn't see anything in the article to suggest the author attributed it to anything as simple as misogyny.
From the article:
>Though Desta Bairu’s cooking drew plaudits, a number of traits beyond her control — her age, her race, her motherly mien — may have put her at a disadvantage.
[edit: formatting]
From the article:
>Though Desta Bairu’s cooking drew plaudits, a number of traits beyond her control — her age, her race, her motherly mien — may have put her at a disadvantage.
[edit: formatting]
I didn't see anything in the article to suggest the author attributed it to anything as simple as the restaurant being called "Mamma Desta", either.
Which was mainly my point. There's also no indication whatsoever that Desta Bairu would have preferred to be called "Desta Bairu" in print, over the "Mamma Desta" that she and the owner chose as the name of the retaurant.
That's just assumed, and used as a springboard for a collection of lukewarm tropes which I summarized as 'misogyny'. I thought that was more condescending than referring to her by her nom de kitchen.
Which was mainly my point. There's also no indication whatsoever that Desta Bairu would have preferred to be called "Desta Bairu" in print, over the "Mamma Desta" that she and the owner chose as the name of the retaurant.
That's just assumed, and used as a springboard for a collection of lukewarm tropes which I summarized as 'misogyny'. I thought that was more condescending than referring to her by her nom de kitchen.
angelenos, and visitors to LA, should check out awash[0] in mid-city, near (but not in) the ethiopian district on fairfax. it's an absolute hole-in-the-wall with warm but wonderfully slow service (expect to wait 45 minutes to get served after ordering). you're expected to relax and chat with friends, unlike korean bbq restaurtants that try to turn your table over as fast as possible (that's why they cook the meat for you even at the table grill). get the vege combo (pictured in the link below) and the awaze tibbs (or the meat combo, which includes it).
it's fabulous and very reasonably priced.
[0] #1 on this list: https://la.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-los-angeless-litt...
it's fabulous and very reasonably priced.
[0] #1 on this list: https://la.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-los-angeless-litt...
There's a restaurant called Awash on Court St in Brooklyn that's also delicious. Slightly more modern style but still terrific food and very chill. Ghenet on 4th Ave is probably my favorite though.
Also, you can't talk about Ethiopian cuisine without mentioning that they were the first culture to drink coffee.
Also, you can't talk about Ethiopian cuisine without mentioning that they were the first culture to drink coffee.
neat! i think i went to a place once in DC or thereabouts that was also called awash.
and yes, ethiopian coffee is good and the beans from that region are among the best in the world.
and yes, ethiopian coffee is good and the beans from that region are among the best in the world.
oh man, first time I had Ethiopian food I was 19 with friends in Adams Morgan in DC. I've had a lot of good Ethiopian since but nothing has bested that moment.
Ha! Me too but I was about 22. We went to the “Red Sea”.
The Ethiopian community in DC makes the best food. I need to get back down there one day.
Confirmed this is a great a recommendation!
Shout out to Azla[0] near DTLA. It is Vegan.
[0] http://azlavegan.com/
Shout out to Azla[0] near DTLA. It is Vegan.
[0] http://azlavegan.com/
Thanks for the recommendation! I haven't been to Awash, usually checking out the restaurants in that one block area on Fairfax (and usually Lalibela, at that). It's nice to see something new when you thought you tried them all :)
you're welcome! it's hard to go wrong picking at random on fairfax--they're all pretty good. but awash has been my favorite for many years now, so i'm happy to send them more business (when it can open again) even at the risk of getting crowded out sometimes.
Living in Los Angeles, we are fortunate to have a Little Ethiopia with plenty of restaurants baking delicious dishes. It's been a good opportunity to bring in friends from out of town to try "exotic" food and let them see that unfamiliar food to them can also be completely delicious, and even become a new favorite dish.
Note: If you have not tried Ethiopian food, check out Yebeg Alecha (Lamb Stew), along with the combination vegetable dishes that come with Injera (a thin, spongy bread that you can tear and use as a pocket for the vegetables).
Note: If you have not tried Ethiopian food, check out Yebeg Alecha (Lamb Stew), along with the combination vegetable dishes that come with Injera (a thin, spongy bread that you can tear and use as a pocket for the vegetables).
My favorite cuisine.
Walk down Telegraph Avenue, from Berkeley to Lake Merritt, you will find a number of great Ethiopian-style restaurants.
My favorite has long been the Blue Nile, which over the years has migrated south, now near the west end of Lake Merritt.
Walk down Telegraph Avenue, from Berkeley to Lake Merritt, you will find a number of great Ethiopian-style restaurants.
My favorite has long been the Blue Nile, which over the years has migrated south, now near the west end of Lake Merritt.
My favorite in the area is Enssaro.
NYC has its share of good Ethiopian restaurants. My favorite for the past 20 years has been Queen of Sheba on 10th Ave (47st). There is Meskerem at McDougal St. There is Awash, as well.
Best places in Seattle: Cafe Ibex and Cafe Selam. For beginners, veggie combo is always good. More advanced: Kitfo, which is Ethiopian steak tartare (raw or rare).
Any Philadelphia recommendations? I remember one in the West 50s or so that had a bar called Fiume over it.
That's abyssinia. There's a couple clusters of Ethiopian restaurants in that general area. Baltimore Ave has several too.
I don't have any personal recommendations.
I don't have any personal recommendations.
I love Ethiopian food, but it has never seemed mainstream to me. Claiming it’s part of the shared American palate is going to need a citation.
Fake trends are the easiest hooks for clickbait these days, fueled by FOMO.
Within the US, of the cities I've lived in (NYC, DC, Philly, Pittsburgh, Chicago, SF), it's thoroughly mainstream in DC, and that's it. In NYC, Ethiopian Food is something I can get if I want it. In DC, everyone I knew ate Ethiopian food semi-regularly and many have their favorite hole in the wall that nobody else had been to.
At least per https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/beyond-regional-circ... -- the location of Ethiopian-Americans is: "If the descendants of Ethiopian-born migrants (the second generation and up) are included, the estimates range upwards of 460,000 in the United States (of which approximately 350,000 are in Washington, DC; 96,000 in Los Angeles; and 10,000 in New York)."
At least per https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/beyond-regional-circ... -- the location of Ethiopian-Americans is: "If the descendants of Ethiopian-born migrants (the second generation and up) are included, the estimates range upwards of 460,000 in the United States (of which approximately 350,000 are in Washington, DC; 96,000 in Los Angeles; and 10,000 in New York)."
I still remember the time I -- a Torontonian who has eaten extensively at the many Ethopian restaurants in town -- visited Munich with my wife and went to an Ethopian restaurant there, and found many of the local Germans eating with a knife and fork instead their hands.
Maybe this was just that night or just this one restaurant, but it kinda shocked me.
Maybe this was just that night or just this one restaurant, but it kinda shocked me.
I'm from Munich. "Table manners" are a bigger deal when bringen children up in Germany, I think, to the point where it's hard at first to put them aside (even though they are just a local custom, in the end).
When I moved to the US, I was a bit confused at first that people did not follow the same table manners even when they were using fork and knife. Sometimes they cut food first and then only used the fork. Often they would leave the other arm below the table, which I have been taught not to. It is perfectly normal to not to finish your plate in the US.
I've got over it, and do the local way now. I do not notice whether I or someone else leave their arm hanging. I especially enjoy the ability to not finish my plate and take leftovers home instead (which is possible in Germany, but the instinct of finishing, sometimes forcibly, your plate made it less common). Customs are just customs.
When I moved to the US, I was a bit confused at first that people did not follow the same table manners even when they were using fork and knife. Sometimes they cut food first and then only used the fork. Often they would leave the other arm below the table, which I have been taught not to. It is perfectly normal to not to finish your plate in the US.
I've got over it, and do the local way now. I do not notice whether I or someone else leave their arm hanging. I especially enjoy the ability to not finish my plate and take leftovers home instead (which is possible in Germany, but the instinct of finishing, sometimes forcibly, your plate made it less common). Customs are just customs.
I should have mentioned, my father is German (from Mainz originally) and table manners were ... important ... around our dinner table. The experience at the Ethiopian restaurant certainly wasn't my first experience with the differences in German attitudes about dining. Eating with my father or my Oma and Opa was quite markedly different from eating with my Canadian farmer grandfather :-)
But leaving food on the plate wasn't acceptable in my house not because my father was German, but from my mother, too, because they grew up (or parents grew up) in a time when there often wasn't enough to go around and wasting food was a ridiculous and rude indulgence.
About the knife and fork thing, I believe that might partially be the difference between continental and Anglo-American style of handling the fork. [1]
[1] https://theetiquetteconsultant.com/blog/2018/1/26/styles-of-...
But leaving food on the plate wasn't acceptable in my house not because my father was German, but from my mother, too, because they grew up (or parents grew up) in a time when there often wasn't enough to go around and wasting food was a ridiculous and rude indulgence.
About the knife and fork thing, I believe that might partially be the difference between continental and Anglo-American style of handling the fork. [1]
[1] https://theetiquetteconsultant.com/blog/2018/1/26/styles-of-...
>Maybe this was just that night or just this one restaurant, but it kinda shocked me.
This may be a "German thing"; I remember being a bit surprised when I ate lunch with a vendor from Germany and he ate a hamburger and french fries with a knife and fork.
This may be a "German thing"; I remember being a bit surprised when I ate lunch with a vendor from Germany and he ate a hamburger and french fries with a knife and fork.
While plenty of people in Germany eat their burgers with their hands, I don't think many would dare doing so at a formal opportunity, such as a business meeting (unless you're already friends).
FWIW, I was raised American and have always done the same. It isn’t just a German thing.
I imagine eating hamburgers and fries with a knife and fork is quite rare among people born, raised, and living in the US.
Is beef and chicken really available in quantities and prices deemed "affordable" in Ethiopia?
Beef seems like a luxury good here. Chicken may not be quite luxury, but it's more expensive than vegetarian.
Beef seems like a luxury good here. Chicken may not be quite luxury, but it's more expensive than vegetarian.
It's probably more available in the US than in Ethiopia but it's still a part of the cuisine. Interestingly, according to the guy who runs my local place, mushrooms are also found in Ethiopian cooking but are often left off the menus because (his words not mine) "white people don't think mushrooms are authentic".
I live in Ethiopia. This country has the highest number of livestock in all of Africa. So it's available in quantities. The price for a kilo can range between 7$ to 20$ (if you go to specialized places). The price hikes was driven by high inflation driven by some economic growth. So meat is moderately expensive but it's a regular menu item at least in the section of society i interact most with. As a comparison, It was 3$ a kilo, markedly cheaper.
It’s relatively expensive, depends on your income level. Chicken beef and goat are common. Folks in the country have better access than in the cities.
Plus, people follow strict fasting (up to 210 mandatory fasting days in a year) ... at least the Oriental Orthodox church followers which make up 40-50% of the population.
I hate to say it, but I was never a big fan of Ethiopian food, even well before the virus situation. All my friends reaching in, grabbing, and getting their fingers in the communal bread/stew was a real turnoff. Flavors were not that different from other spicy types of food, and it really was the fingers-in-bowls thing that I could never get over.
ps. I know there are ways of individually serving it.
ps. I know there are ways of individually serving it.
The restaurants that I've been to had serving spoons, I guess as a compromise to Western norms. The flavours were subtly different from other things I've tried.
starpilot(2)
You know Ethiopian food is good because it's become popular without the "mother country" wielding any kind of economic influence/hard power/soft power.
This food looks delicious and I'd love to try some. It seems that they haven't "Americanized" it as much as many other ethnic restaurants - though I haven't had real Ethopian food so I don't actually know that for sure.
I wish that Americans would stop paying for shitty versions of other cultures foods. I live in a huge city with lots of people of a certain south-east Asian ethnic group. I am also married to a south-east Asian of said ethnic group. We have tried every one of the available restaurants and not a single one of them comes even close to properly approximating the food available in her home country (according to her).
In her opinion, this isn't just because of a lack of available ingredients. It is because Americans don't want authentic food. Fix your shit America because we will forever be (along with the UK) the laughing stock of the culinary world with these practices.
I wish that Americans would stop paying for shitty versions of other cultures foods. I live in a huge city with lots of people of a certain south-east Asian ethnic group. I am also married to a south-east Asian of said ethnic group. We have tried every one of the available restaurants and not a single one of them comes even close to properly approximating the food available in her home country (according to her).
In her opinion, this isn't just because of a lack of available ingredients. It is because Americans don't want authentic food. Fix your shit America because we will forever be (along with the UK) the laughing stock of the culinary world with these practices.
I have no idea why you're having a go at Americans so much, this literally happens everywhere. British interpretation of Indian dishes has nothing to do with originals. Every country has their localized version of McDonald's even(Poland has a burger with saurkraut and goat cheese). German idea of Italian food is....difficult, but incidentally Germans make the best kebabs. I'd argue that the worst pizza I've ever had was actually in Italy.
There's no such thing as "authentic" food. It doesn't exist and it never did.
There's no such thing as "authentic" food. It doesn't exist and it never did.
Germans idea of Italian food differs across Germany, I think. Munich, which is far south (so closer to Italy) and has a lot of Italian people has enormously good Italian food. Coffee is also almost synonymous with Espresso/Cappuccino/Latte Macchiato, and "ciao" is one of the most common ways to say "bye" in Munich (and I never knew otherwise).
With you until the last line. There are definitely corruptions of good dishes that have no merit. What do you call them?
Bad food. Seriously, food isn't good just because it's authentic, just like music isn't automatically good because it's traditional.
Like, some Scottish establishments will deep fry a pizza. Who cares it's not an "authentic" Italian food? It's "authentic" Scottish food at this point. I also don't particularly care about Italians thinking it's an abomination - they are free to think that, but I wouldn't have a go at the Scots for doing it - if they like it, then whatever.
Like, some Scottish establishments will deep fry a pizza. Who cares it's not an "authentic" Italian food? It's "authentic" Scottish food at this point. I also don't particularly care about Italians thinking it's an abomination - they are free to think that, but I wouldn't have a go at the Scots for doing it - if they like it, then whatever.
Fried pizza is most certainly an authentic Italian thing -- it's street food in Napoli, and it's absolutely fantastic.
Haha, I completely agree, but also understand why it happens. There is a documentary called "The Search for General Tso" on Netflix (I believe) that talks about how a staple American dish in Chinese restaurants came to be. In particular, nearly everybody says, "we had to change this and add sugar, as Americans have a sweeter palette than Chinese have".
However, the same thing happens in Asia with other countrys' foods, which can sometimes be good (Shaka Shaka Chicken, Japanese Curry) or perplexing (Cheeseburger Pizza).
Having grown up around a lot of Asian and Asian Americans, I do wish the majority of Americans were more open to different cultural foods. There are so many good dishes from all over the world, that it just seems a shame to miss out on. I can't imagine life without Shengjian bao, xiaolung bao, green onion pancakes, or the host of noodle dishes.
By the way, you didn't mention in particular, but I am guessing the huge South-East Asian ethnic group is Hmong? In which case I'm sure you've tried sweet pork (nqaj qaab zib). If you haven't, or if I'm wrong about which group you're talking about, try it anyway. It's delicious!
However, the same thing happens in Asia with other countrys' foods, which can sometimes be good (Shaka Shaka Chicken, Japanese Curry) or perplexing (Cheeseburger Pizza).
Having grown up around a lot of Asian and Asian Americans, I do wish the majority of Americans were more open to different cultural foods. There are so many good dishes from all over the world, that it just seems a shame to miss out on. I can't imagine life without Shengjian bao, xiaolung bao, green onion pancakes, or the host of noodle dishes.
By the way, you didn't mention in particular, but I am guessing the huge South-East Asian ethnic group is Hmong? In which case I'm sure you've tried sweet pork (nqaj qaab zib). If you haven't, or if I'm wrong about which group you're talking about, try it anyway. It's delicious!
I hope it's not Thai. That'd be very ironic.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/paxadz/the-surprising-rea...
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/paxadz/the-surprising-rea...
Must not be the Bay Area then? I'm still amazed at how many different cuisines there are here, and how authentic they are. I'm German, and a lot of German food I tasted here was spot on. My wife is Chinese and we've been to plenty of restaurants that were authentic according to her.
On the other hand, we both combined only know a handful of cuisines really well, so I can't tell if we're just lucky to have them match up.
On the other hand, we both combined only know a handful of cuisines really well, so I can't tell if we're just lucky to have them match up.
My experience traveling has been that very few countries have as much variation of cuisine as the US, even considering the amount of 'american-ization' of dishes you'll see.
Alpha cities and regional / global capitals certainly do, but your average Midwestern city seems to have much more variation than a random middle-sized European city from what experienced abroad (with the caveat that obviously individual European countries are much more different from each other than US states are).
Alpha cities and regional / global capitals certainly do, but your average Midwestern city seems to have much more variation than a random middle-sized European city from what experienced abroad (with the caveat that obviously individual European countries are much more different from each other than US states are).
Which ethnic group/cuisine are you referring to?
I saw one comment here from someone who dislikes the "eat with your hands and scoop up the food with injera" style of Ethiopian dining. Zeni has both options: a traditional Ethiopian dining room and a western-style room with regular tables and chairs. They are very nice people, and I hope their business survives the current crisis.
In the meantime, I will have to content myself with our home-roasted Ethiopian coffee. I love those fruity dry process beans. Yum!