Red Sea Restaurant

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Forget the utensils and dig into hearty Ethiopian fare.. The Scene


A well-worn dining room with windows overlooking the always-interesting Loop is populated by university types--undergrads, grads, profs--and those who know that in Ethiopia it's okay to play with your food.



The Food


Berebere, a paste made of paprika, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, cardamom, fenugreek and other spices, is a staple of Ethiopian cooking, as is niter kebbeh, a butter flavored with onions, garlic, ginger and turmeric. A spongy flatbread called injera is used in place of utensils to scoop up meats and vegetables and mop up sauces. The most common Ethiopian dish is a one-pot meal called wat, or stew. With chicken, it's doro wat, with lamb, yebeg wat. In addition to such excelling at such traditional and tasty dishes, Red Sea also serves a range of appetizers and entrees that can go astray. For example, a mundane vegetarian pasta on the menu seems a gratuitous offering, since Ethiopian cuisine is so rich and savory. Do yourself a favor. Test the waters at Red Sea, but get your spaghetti and chicken wings somewhere else.