New West
Disclaimer; I have never been to Eritrea. Frankly up until a few years ago I never even heard of the place. Can you find it on a map? It’s quite near Djibouti. What? You don’t know where that is either? Ok think Egypt and then head south. That will get you close. At any rate I do not claim to be an expert on African food. So my thoughts expressed here come from a place of ignorance sprinkled with a desire for greater knowledge of African cuisine.
It was funny actually. As we were walking away after our dinner at Massawa we were discussing ethnic restaurants and we realized that Massawa is right next door to Artusi. I suppose as North Americans we don’t necessarily consider Italian food as ethnic as it’s fairly ingrained into our own Canadian culture but it really is no less ethnic than an African restaurant. I must admit though that I have no idea what food is ethnically Canadian. Do you?
We had been to Artusi earlier this year with neither of us being taken by the place. (review here)
So I posed a question to Merilynn. Given the choice between these two restaurants would you prefer Artusi or Massawa?
Her answer, with out much thinking needed and matching my own choice, was Massawa.
Upon entering the restaurant the first thing we noticed is the fact that everyone was staring at us. I don’t know maybe they don’t get very many white people in here. If they don’t I hope that changes soon.
The second thing I noticed was the smell. I felt like I was in a spice market. The aromas were amazing.
It’s not a fancy restaurant. Don’t expect white tablecloths and silver cutlery. In fact don’t expect tablecloths or cutlery at all.
It was at this point I started getting the feeling that this might be one of those meals that are a mind opening experience.
I’ve had a few over the years. In Zihuatañejo we went to a little hole in the wall where all the locals ate. It was about 6 blocks off the beach and we had a simple mac and cheese with ham in it. That was amazing.
Another was in Florence on the Oregon coast. I remember trying to get into the “nice” seafood restaurant and it was too busy so we walked down the street to what amounted to be a takeout place with two plastic patio furniture tables for “dine in.” Absolutely incredible seafood.
I think my dinner tonight is a meal I’ll never forget.
The food was very good. The overall experience is what made it special.
We had Awaze tibsi.
Remember I said no utensils? The bread, Injera, is your utensil.
It’s a flat, spongy, tangy and porous bread .
The lamb stew was great. There was a mild spicy note from the berbere spice with the occasional kick in the ass to wake you up. The tang from the Injera added a nice balance of flavours. An incredible mango shake brought everything together.
My review of Artusi can be found here