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| - Good food, but no gursha, which is great, too! While staying at the Westin's Harbour Front in TO, sick of the overpriced?, truly mediocre food there, we felt we'd earned something amazing, and Ethiopian/Eritrean food fits that bill! Full disclosure: we have it whenever and wherever we can; we make it at home ourselves, too--I'm getting pretty adept at making my version of wot and tibs. We picked this place because it was a healthy 20-30 minute walk from the hotel, which was just enough to really work? up an appetite, and we knew the walk back would provide a nice caloric burn after what we were hoping would be? a feast! It was...the ingredients were fresh, the flavours? rich, spicey, and intense, just the way we like it. It was also served hot, which is important? (apart from the kitfo--their version of tartare--and the salad) because? we've been to, thankfully?, a minority of places (usually the "chain" versions) that microwave their dishes, and it's not good. This wasn't the case here. I think what we enjoyed the most is that it lived up to our expectations but with a twist: the beef tasted "beefier" and the strips of beef had a glaze to it, and the berbere (for this dish only, chu chu I think?) was served on the side as a dipping sauce, which was very different for us. We've never dipped in an Ethiopian restaurant, but it was a nice twist, and I enjoyed the new combinations of flavours.
They didn't have one of our go-to dishes zilzil (it was on the menu but unavailable? that evening), so they offered a substitute? (the chu chu?) I described? above, so I can't judge as I'd normally judge, but overall this was a solidly good experience with good food, and, as we've come to expect, wonderful and friendly staff who always make you feel like you've simply arrived as invited guests to their home for a homecooked meal, which brings me to the no gursha policy. As amateur but well-travelled? Ethiopian food eaters,? we've built up a nice curriculum? vitae of places and experiences--dishes we've tried, in many cities, in several countries--and one of these is the gursha where the cook feeds the guests ceremonially in the same way you eat Ethiopian food. For those new to Ethiopian, you eat with your hands and you? share the plate, so for all you finger-lickers? out there, there's a reason your? friends leave you off the Ethiopian restaurant invites ;) So, if you do the math, when I say the Chef feeds you, I mean literally, by hand. Now, there is some history? to this, and there are? also different meanings? to different people, but I can only describe how it was introduced? to us. It was a very traditional scene, done to show maximum respect and appreciation for us; we appreciated the ?gesture? and went along with it in the way one does when one is "on the spot" and want?s to reciprocate the feeling of appreciation and respect. Having said all that, we'll never do it again, and we've made it a little anecdote we share with our Ethiopian hosts who, after the shock of hearing our story, laugh, then promise with a wink never to give us the gursha!
I give this a solid 4 out of 5 only because some of the dishes we'd normally get simply weren't available? when we were there? but were on the menu to be fair, and we'd definitely? go back to try them, too! A note on Ethiopian restaurants: though definitely? "in" restaurants, abiding? by all the safety and health standards that make a good restaurant? (this place had their TO safety rating "PASS" posted), most really good Ethiopian places feel, and? often resemble, someone's house, and there's a casualness to exactly what's available? that day and how long that might take. We don't go to eat Ethiopian for the décor or for the fast food; we go for fresh ingredients, intense flavours, made to order food, and that means sometimes, this meat or that cut isn't available? that night. This place was actually better than most for speed and selection, and our fresh order was served unexpectedly? quickly.
Definitely,? a place we'd go to again when in Toronto, ?and? certainly? a place that would see? us as regulars if we lived in the area.
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