[dehai-news] (News Cincinnati) Emanu Mogos' move is a step in right direction


New Message Reply About this list Date view Thread view Subject view Author view

From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Thu Aug 21 2008 - 16:18:32 EDT


Emanu's move is a step in right direction
 
Restaurant review
 
By Polly Campbell • pcampbell@enquirer.com • August 21, 2008
 
Emanu Mogos and her husband, Yhedgo Beyene, are no strangers to picking
up their life and moving. In 1992, they moved halfway around the world,
from their home in the East African country of Eritrea to Cincinnati. So
moving their restaurant one block is a minor journey.
 
But this move is more important than it might seem. It takes their
Pleasant Ridge restaurant, formerly called the East African Restaurant,
from small, cramped surroundings to an appealing and modern space,
taking Ethiopian into the mainstream. It also has a new name: Emanu.
 
Windows along Montgomery and Losantiville Roads are covered with simple
sheer white curtains. Inside, the two rooms are decorated in earth tones
with a tile floor, African paintings and wooden chairs. The faucet in
the bathroom suggests a village well to me. In all, it's subdued and
handsome.
 
Emanu and Yhedgo's son, Sammy, the maitre d' and waiter, is welcoming
and patient as he brings the menus and explains what you need to know
about the food. The best way to order is family-style. Your choices will
come on a large platter on top of a round of injera, the unusual bread
that is the basis of Ethiopian food. It's not really bread; it's more
like a big round sourdough crepe, made with a grain called teff.
 
We started with vegetarian sambussa ($3), a crisp fried dumpling filled
with lentils and herbs.
 
It's a small menu; you can get beef, lamb or chicken, each done either
watt-style (curry-like stew) or tibs-style (a spicy sauté).
 
More injera is served on the side, rolled up and looking exactly like
little towels. I like sourdough bread, but I find injera just a little
too sour to love. Still, it has other excellent properties, such as its
soft texture and supple flexibility. Each time I try it, I like it a
little better.
 
You eat with the injera and your hands (right hand only). Tear off
pieces of injera and wrap it around bits of food to make a neat package.
(There are forks, and it's perfectly OK to use them.) The flavors are
clean and simple, and there is nothing too exotic for most people to
try.
 
We had lamb tibs ($14), a sauté of tender lamb in small strips cooked
with peppers and onions - not too spicy if you avoid the jalapenos - the
chicken watt ($12), a curry-like stew with a lemony tang that includes a
hard boiled egg, and a variety of vegetable dishes ($13), including
yellow and red lentils, spicy collard greens, sautéed cabbage and best
of all, green beans and carrots.
 
 
 
The meat dishes are cooked with butter, but the vegetables have no
animal fats in them and are still full of flavor. That makes Emanu a
must-visit for vegetarians.
 
 
 
Among the new refinements to the restaurant is dessert. We had a
delicious goat cheesecake and pine-nut pound cake - not authentic to the
cuisine, perhaps, but a nice ending, and a further reason to try the
Ethiopian coffee ceremony. I saved that for next time.
 
• Been to Emanu yet? Click here to tell us how you liked it.
 
 
 
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808220308
 
 
 
 
<http://cmsimg.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AB&Date=20080821
&Category=ENT01&ArtNo=808220308&Ref=AR&Profile=1026&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&ti
tle=0>
 
 
 
 


         ----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----


New Message Reply About this list Date view Thread view Subject view Author view

webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2008
All rights reserved