Searching for unique, out of the ordinary cuisines...

So this past weekend, the BF and I ventured out of our culinary shell and tried ethiopian food at Ethiopian Diamond on Broadway. WOW - wonderful delicious stuff. I was very impressed and pleased. We had the Tibs sampler - consisting of:

- zilzil tibs (tender lean beed marinated in garlic, green peppers & onions)
- doro tibs (chicken breast marinated in lemon juice, garlic, green peppers & onions)
- yebeg tibs (lamb meat marinated in rosemary, garlive, green pepper & onions)
- gomen (chopped collard greens simmered in mild sauce of onions & garlic)
- quosta (chopped spinach simmered in mild sauce of onions & garlic)
- tikel gomen (sliced cabbage & carrots cooked in mild sauce)

After a wonderful dining experience, we're hungry for more unique cuisines outside of the standard mexican, italian and asian flair. Any suggestions??

Ethiopian Diamond
6120 Broadway
773-338-1600

foodie1 wrote:So this past weekend, the BF and I ventured out of our culinary shell and tried ethiopian food at Ethiopian Diamond on Broadway. WOW - wonderful delicious stuff. I was very impressed and pleased. We had the Tibs sampler - consisting of:

- zilzil tibs (tender lean beed marinated in garlic, green peppers & onions)
- doro tibs (chicken breast marinated in lemon juice, garlic, green peppers & onions)
- yebeg tibs (lamb meat marinated in rosemary, garlive, green pepper & onions)
- gomen (chopped collard greens simmered in mild sauce of onions & garlic)
- quosta (chopped spinach simmered in mild sauce of onions & garlic)
- tikel gomen (sliced cabbage & carrots cooked in mild sauce)

After a wonderful dining experience, we're hungry for more unique cuisines outside of the standard mexican, italian and asian flair. Any suggestions??

Ethiopian Diamond
6120 Broadway
773-338-1600

Yes, but did you try the "They Call me MISTER Tibbs??"

Wocka wocka... my standard, sour-apples look receiving, get-Tej-thrown-on-me Ethiopian restaurant joke. Ahem... Mama Desta's Red Sea was a popular pick amongst my erstwhile Chicago crew. I thought the dishes, across the board, whether vegetarian or meat-based, were pretty good, with varying levels of spice to make a nice balance. What distressed me was the injera, which had a nice texture but a uniformly sour taste bordering on unpleasant. My only other Ethiopian food experience was in Madison (close to the "Wisco" campus, ahem...), and the injera there was slightly sour, but not to the point where it interfered with the main food, as I fear it did at Mama Desta's. As this is the only implement/starch/quicker-picker-upper in Ethiopian cuisine, it kinda puts a damper on the meal. Has anyone experienced this similar level of sourness in injera, whether at Mama Desta's or elsewhere? How did the sourness affect your enjoyment of the meal? Did it lead to a burning sensation or to a pleasant tingle? Should I see a specialist about this?

Foodie 1, Uptown is supposed to have some pretty interesting West African places, though I never made it to any myself. Others, I'm sure, can chime in with some recs.

Mama Desta's Red Sea
3218 N Clark
(773) WEllington5 7561

foodie1 wrote:So this past weekend, the BF and I ventured out of our culinary shell and tried ethiopian food at Ethiopian Diamond on Broadway. WOW - wonderful delicious stuff. I was very impressed and pleased.
<snip>
After a wonderful dining experience, we're hungry for more unique cuisines outside of the standard mexican, italian and asian flair. Any suggestions??

Chicago is an fantastic city for food with incredibly diverse cuisines from which to choose (even within 'standard' cuisines). What particularly did you like about the Ethopian food and are you looking for similar tastes?

As far as African food goes there have been some great posts recently: Ghanaian restaurants (see also Palace Gates, New Ghanaian place--Anyone been? as well as a nice guide to Ghanian food)

More on African food: Exploring Elston, Algeria, Morocco, and the Renaissance, Food Trucks in Chicago?

Then there's Carribean food, of which one was recently mentioned - Tropical Time. There are many more in the southside as well.

There are many S. American cuisines represented in Chicago restaurants: Peruvian, Salvadorean, Brazilian. I'll also toss in Cuban here.

I must add that the descriptor 'asian' to me is somewhat all-encompassing and therefore totally meaningless (at least in a food and culture context). Do you mean Japanese, Chinese (and there's good and very different regional Chinese cooking), Korean, Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Malay, Philipino, Indian and Pakistani (and there some different regional Indian too), Middle-Eastern or (because I'm a rabble rouser ) Turkish?

It's time for lunch and so with some apology, I won't get started on Europe...

And then even among the groups of cuisine you mention, there are foods that are far from 'standard' (if you are up for real adventure)

See also the thread Places I really should go to and the Great Neighbourhood Restaurants section

woka, woka.

I guess I should have prefaced my post by noting that I'm a suburbanite...who's dating a Chicago student that lives off of ramen noodles and any leftovers found in the fridge. Given that, our tastebuds thrive on new palatable experiences that go beyond the commerical restaurant chains.

I've got the asian cuisines pretty much down...so I'm particularly interested in south/latin american, eastern/western european and african cuisines.

In retrospect, I guess my question was rather vague...my apologies. So to rephrase:

What cuisines/restaurants do you recommend for flavors of south/latin america, eastern/western europe and africa? Furthermore, what distiguishes this cuisine from the others in the same region? Lastly, what would be the most popular dish to order of this cusine?

Hope this clarifies things a bit to allow for some great suggestions!

What particularly did you like about the Ethopian food and are you looking for similar tastes?

I liked the whole "communal" experience of eating with our hands, in addition to the melding of flavors within the various meats, spices, etc.

I'm looking for both a unique dining experience and also authentic foods that captures the region in which it comes from...whether it be in the preparation, the ingredients, the ambience, etc.

Not exactly among the world regions you specificied, but have you considered the Afghan cuisine at

Kabul House
3320 Dempster St.
Skokie, IL

?

You could try Spanish cuisine. Cafe iberico and Babareeba are both nice places. I haven't been to either in a long while. This should fit your requirements, especially if you use your fingers for some of the small tapas items.

If you're dating a UChicago student, you should try the Dixie Kitchen and Calypso Cafe. Both are in the shopping mall across from Borders and the Hyde Park Bank Building and behind the Hollywood Video. Dixie is a soul food place, and pretty good, at that. Calypso is Caribean. Try their jerked chicked. Tres bien. Maple Tree which is further south (not sure the exact address) is very good Cajun cooking. The BBQ shrimp is to die for. I also hear if you go on a weekday and call a few days in advance you can get Shrimp Dion'vie (I think that's spelled right, I just call it "shrip beyond veal"), and that it's some of the best you can find outside of Naw'lans (New Orleans). Berghof's Cafe, downtown, is a must-experience Chicago institution (they have the first ever issued liqour license after the Prohibition, and it's on display). While the atmosphere is a little watered down compared to many German restaurants I've been to, the food more than makes up for it. Everything I've ever had there has been exquisite, and the prices are more than fair. If you want an extraordinary Mexican experience, go with Chilpancingo or Topolobamba (sorry if they're misspelled), two of Chicago's finest authenic Mexican retaurant. I know Chilpancingo changes their menu on a weekly basis so there's always new things to try. And their mole is beyond belief. Quite possibly the best Mexican I've had. It's expensive though, so you may want to try their cheeper sisters, Ixtapizalca (SP?) and Frontera Grill, respectively. If you want a try Chicago experience, you also need to grab an Italian beef. I suggest Mr. Beef on Orleans (in the middle of the 700s block of Orleans, a few doors down from the Green Door Tavern), though I'm sure you'll hear some arguments. All I can say is, to me, the taste is best, and, more objectively, Mr. Beef gives you a bigger sandwitch than Al's for less, and peppers are free. Though I've never been there, I hear Russian Tea Time is quite good. If you need any help finding good eats near of the U of C campus, my house is on campus (when I'm not at Tufts, in Boston), so I'll be more than happy to help out. It would also be useful to know what suburb you're from.

foodie1,

If you are trying to get out of a Mexican-Italian-Asian rut (although "Asian" is so broad that I could eat just Asian for an entire year and never get bored), why not look towards the rest of Europe? (You don't have to look that far beyond the GNR board). Winter is coming, the hearty foods of Europe are calling.....

--There are plenty of Polish places in town that will make you feel like you're dining...well...in Poland. GNR winner, immediately Podhalanka comes to mind as a place to try.

--Chicago has an O.K. array of German choices, led by Laschet's food and neighborhood bar atmosphere, in my opinion.

--There are some great Czech places in town like Klas and Operetta.

--I've always had a great time and a great Hungarian meal at Paprikash. Go on a night when they have live music and you will feel like you're far from Chicago.

--Healthy Food Lithuanian is the meal that your Lithuanian grandmother would server you, if you had one.

--As far as Russian goes, the delis around are the best, but Zhivago (rarely mentioned here) is a great place for some blini, caviar, pelmeni, and vodka. (Skip the entrees). 9925 Gross Point Rd, Skokie, (847) 982-140


Enjoy.

Best,
Michael

Here are some suggestions:

NIGERIAN:

Qaato Restaurant
7118 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60626
773-465-6255

Qaato, in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, is a pleasant surprise. Offerings here are much the same as at Chicago's other Nigerian establishments, but exceptionally tasty and generous. A bowl of Egusi Soup arrived with three huge chunks of goat meat and a liberal helping of Gari (pounded yam, Amala or semolina fufu are also available). A $5 bowl of Pepper Soup was properly incendiary and brimming with tender goat meat (a fish version is also available), an excellent deal. Asaro (yam porridge) had a slightly lower proportion of tomato than usual, and was studded with shrimp, usually lacking at Chicago's other Nigerian restaurants. The menu also offers suya (Hausa kebabs), snail and other delicacies. The young waitress, the owner's daughter, seemed overworked but was pleasant and competent.

SOMALI:

Banadir
6221 N. Clark St.
Chicago
773-274-2778

I dropped in on a Friday afternoon for the $8 all-you can-eat buffet, and was greeted warmly by the proprietor, who told me "just take a plate and help yourself" to chicken, goat meat, two kinds of rice, pasta, tea, salad and a sort of mango-flavored Kool-Aid. What Banadir lacks in sophistication it more than makes up in friendliness and good cheer. As I ate the place filled up with Somali cabdrivers and families, who filed in, filled their plates and conversed amiably. All in all the ambiance was more like a house party than a restaurant. The food was tasty enough, but I'll have to stop in a couple more times to make a definitive judgement.

GHANAIAN:

Diana's African Restaurant
4409 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640
773-271-6000

The family & I were in Chicago and stopped by this tiny diner (6-7 tables). Diana's turns out to be Chicago's first Ghanaian restaurant, & offers extremely casual ambiance, rather surly service and dishes like Banku, Kenkey (steamed dumplings made from fermented cornmeal), Diehou and Watchey (black-eyed peas & rice). Ewedu, Egusi and Okra soups sound similar to offerings at Chicago's Nigerian restaurants. Unfortunately, we were unable to find out how Diana's renditions differ from the Nigerian versions, because by the time we got there (8 p.m.) they were all out. Jolloff Rice and Palmnut Soup were the only menu items still available. The Palmnut Soup was excellent, combining stockfish and extremely tender chunks of bone-in goat meat with a complex, creamy sauce. We had it with two versions of fufu - plantain & Banku, which is made from fermented corn meal. The Jolloff Rice was served with large pieces of goat meat and fried fish, with tomato sauce ladled over the top. We're looking forward to future visits to Diana's, and further adventures in this little-known cuisine.

You know, while I would never discourage anyone from trying to collect as many stamps in their culinary passport as they can-- it pleases me that my sons have had Nepali, Vietnamese and Chilean at an age when I probably had not yet had Mexican-- the other real joy of this city is just that, hey, you think you've had Chinese, but you haven't even begun to have Chinese yet. (And then, of course, comes the realization that even with such riches, this is far from the best city for Chinese in north America.) Same for Thai, Japanese, Indian/Pakistani and Mexican. You can have plenty of totally new experiences delving deeper into several cuisines that you think you know already-- I certainly have.

Start by poking around for some of those cuisines and the restaurants of those nationalities in the Great Neighborhood Restaurants program.

Mr. Beadle,

Welcome to LTHforum.com

I know you exclusively by reputation as quite the authority on African food. I have heard the best African restaurant in our region is in Milwaukee. If this is true in your opinion, perhaps you could post a review on our "Beyond Chicagoland" board on this restaurant.

I'm very pleased you have joined the conversation at LTHforum.com.

Regards,

Mike G wrote:You can have plenty of totally new experiences delving deeper into several cuisines that you think you know already-- I certainly have.

This thread points to restaurants serving regional variations on a variety of cuisines, both common and uncommon.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions and insight! I'm looking forward to many unique good eats in the city given the information posted here and within the board!

Can't get enough of the Central/South American. We are so lucky...

Ecuador:

La Humita

Guatemala:

El Tinajon

Puerto Rican

Borinquen

Argentina/Chile

El Nandu

How about some Colombian:

Pueblito Viejo
5429 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago 60625

"Musica para recordar el ayer"

foodie1 wrote:So this past weekend, the BF and I ventured out of our culinary shell and tried ethiopian food at Ethiopian Diamond on Broadway. WOW - wonderful delicious stuff. I was very impressed and pleased. We had the Tibs sampler - consisting of:

- zilzil tibs (tender lean beed marinated in garlic, green peppers & onions)
- doro tibs (chicken breast marinated in lemon juice, garlic, green peppers & onions)
- yebeg tibs (lamb meat marinated in rosemary, garlive, green pepper & onions)
- gomen (chopped collard greens simmered in mild sauce of onions & garlic)
- quosta (chopped spinach simmered in mild sauce of onions & garlic)
- tikel gomen (sliced cabbage & carrots cooked in mild sauce)

After a wonderful dining experience, we're hungry for more unique cuisines outside of the standard mexican, italian and asian flair. Any suggestions??

Ethiopian Diamond
6120 Broadway
773-338-1600

I'm checking this place out Sunday... can't wait!

Our recent experience at Ethiopian Diamond was dissappointing.
We went with friends (table of 6) on the Wednesday between Christmas and New Year's around 7pm. We had all been before, and all agreed this was much worse than usual (both food and service)

Between the 6 of us we ordered three plates of samosas, two platters for two (the vegetarian and the tibs) and an extra lamb dish (yebeg alicha). The waiter hassled us and said that would not be enough food. We said we had all been there before and were thought we would be fine. He hassled us one more time and we stood our ground. Not a good start. We expect service there to be slow, but this was rude. (I appreciate good natured advice, but this was not a friendly suggestion, it was more like a demand.)

When the samosas came (some beef, some spinach, some lentil), they were all on one plate. We asked which were which (we had some vegetarians). The server didn't get it right. Luckily I tried a "beef" first and got a spinach, so we had to appoint a food taster for the vegetarians.

Then the platters came. The vegetarian one was fine, and collards and spinach were quite good. We also liked something we thought might be eggplant? (it was dark red and didn't taste lentil-y) The Tibs for Two came with all three meats mixed in one pile. All tibs meats were overcooked and dry. Don't these usually come in separate piles?

We long for the medium-rare marinated lamb at Addis Ababa! What we got at ED was almost inedible. The lamb stew (yebeg alicha) was tasty, but very skimpy and boney for a $12 portion. The portions were quite small compared to the last time. We suspected this was the waiter's revenge. Not smart. It will keep me from returning.

So sorry to hear about your less than stellar experience. I've been eating at Ras Dashen lately (Twice in the last 30 days) and found the experience quite pleasant. It'll be better now with the smoking ban


Ras Dashen is on Broadway, north of Hollywood, across from the Armory and a block south of Moody's.

Diannie

Hungryrabbi, although you asked a while ago, I noticed that no one responded to your comment about sour injera. It's my understanding that injera is made with a starter, similar to sourdough bread. So I think the sourness is somewhat inherient in injera. I personally like the taste, and could eat injera by the truckload.

(Speaking of other ethnic breads that I could eat by the truckload, has anyone noticed that Trader Joes has started to sell frozen naan? Since I've never found a bakery source of naan on Devon--maybe one exists, but I haven't found one--I've been buying a lot of the frozen stuff at Trader Joes. About 45 secs in the microwave followed by another 45 secs in the toaster oven produces a piece of naan that's the perfect combo of crispy/chewy...mmm!)

chgoeditor wrote:Hungryrabbi, although you asked a while ago, I noticed that no one responded to your comment about sour injera. It's my understanding that injera is made with a starter, similar to sourdough bread. So I think the sourness is somewhat inherient in injera. I personally like the taste, and could eat injera by the truckload.

I think you are rght about that, IIRC the batter for injera is slightly fermented, similar to indian dosai batters

chgoeditor wrote:(Speaking of other ethnic breads that I could eat by the truckload, has anyone noticed that Trader Joes has started to sell frozen naan? Since I've never found a bakery source of naan on Devon--maybe one exists, but I haven't found one--I've been buying a lot of the frozen stuff at Trader Joes. About 45 secs in the microwave followed by another 45 secs in the toaster oven produces a piece of naan that's the perfect combo of crispy/chewy...mmm!)

hmmm, not sure what you mean by a bakery source - indian breads generally aren't baked in the same fashion as other places, naan are done in a tandoor/clay oven, bhatura and puri are deep fried, parantha, and chapati are skillet/tava fried etc. but as far as takeout Naan is concerned have you tried Naan on devon (opposite king sweets, east of western avenue) along with shirazi grill and chill, my favorite named place on the street, another cheap takeout naan option is from bismillah on ridge a block or so south of devon. As far as frozen breads, there is actually a pretty large selection (naan included) at patel brothers in the freezer section

I love Ethiopian cuisine, but I find that it is much better in my hometown, Washington DC, where there is a substantial Ethiopian population and restaurants to match.

I sense that the original poster might be working with a limited budget. Given that, I would add Irazu, Chicago's only Costa Rican restaurant, to this already wonderful list of ethnic eateries.

ekpaster wrote:I love Ethiopian cuisine, but I find that it is much better in my hometown, Washington DC, where there is a substantial Ethiopian population and restaurants to match.

I've read a lot about DC's Ethiopian restaurants. Can you name one or two that you think stand out? I am also interested to hear which restaurants in Chicago you've tried and if you think one here stands out.

Can you name one or two that you think stand out? I am also interested to hear which restaurants in Chicago you've tried and if you think one here stands out.

In DC, the Ethiopian restaurants tend to cluster in Adams Morgan. Personally, I quite love Meskerem and Red Sea is good as well. There is another, less fancy but more authentic Ethiopian place, where the cab drivers gather, further down 18th Street. I could walk you there, but couldn't come up with a name to save my life.

Here, I like the food at Ethiopian Diamond, although I've had very uneven service. I would stay away from Mama Desta's. The food is really inferior.

ekpaster wrote:Here, I like the food at Ethiopian Diamond, although I've had very uneven service. I would stay away from Mama Desta's. The food is really inferior.

Thanks for the DC suggestions. I have considered seriously making a trip to DC just to eat Ethiopian food. (Sick? I call it dedicated.)

Have you tried Ras Dashen? I have an acquaintance of Ethiopian descent who won't eat at Ethiopian Diamond because they use oil rather than butter (niter kebbeh) in their food. Ras Dashen is my favorite in Chicago, and that may or may not be the reason.

I am a Chicago (well Waukegan) native living in DC. There's a lot of food I miss from the Chicago area, but DC has hands down the best Ethiopian in the country. While Meskerem used to be good, it has slipped quite a bit in recent years and Red Sea is unfortunately now a yuppie wine store.

We now have a neighborhood called "Little Ethiopia" at the 9th and U NW area. Some restaurants to check out: Dukem, Etete, Queen Makeda, Madjet, Axum and Sodere. Ask for kitfo, and insist that they serve it raw (they tend to figure non-Ethiopians don't want raw beef). Any one of these restaurants will deliver a stellar Ethiopian meal.

does anyone know of a casual eithiopian place in chicago? i used to go to this one in LA where you could sit on interesting little chairs...

the only ones ive seen have tablecloths here?(red sea , diamond)
.... just wondering...

rosepetaljam wrote:does anyone know of a casual eithiopian place in chicago? i used to go to this one in LA where you could sit on interesting little chairs...

the only ones ive seen have tablecloths here?(red sea , diamond)
.... just wondering...

Ras Dashen has the traditional low tables and chairs as well as your standard American restaurant tables and chairs. I would definitely characterize it as casual.