Addis Abeba, Evanston

Yesterday, my office went to Addis Abeba in Evanston for a celebratory lunch. I used to eat fairly regularly at AA’s defunct Wrigleyville location and have pleasant memories of dinners there. The lunch yesterday in Evanston was disappointing. First, the lunch menu (which we didn’t consult before we went) was very limited and did not include the Ethiopian dishes I like most. (This was my first time having Ethiopian for lunch.) The menu consisted of the following items: inquodai, yemiser wot, azifa, tekil gomen, doro wot and yesiga wot. We ordered three large platters with all of the dishes available. (There were six people in our party.)



Without exception, the flavors were all very muted. Four of the people in our group were completely new to Ethiopian cuisine, including one person very wary of (and sensitive to) spice in her food. She consumed the yemiser wot without flinching. The two of us familiar with Ethiopian food had to remind her that the red lentils were supposed to spicy. From my Wrigleyville meals, I also didn’t remember AA’s injera being as thin and bland as it was yesterday. (I like my injera on the more sour end of the spectrum.) We ordered a half carafe of honey wine, which I think the waitress forgot to deliver. I finally got up ¾ of the way through the meal to ask her to bring it out. (The carafe with wine was sitting on the counter when I went up there to ask for it.) AA’s honey wine was much less sweet than what I’m accustomed to drinking at Ethiopian Diamond, but it was good. It tasted more like a chardonnay than just a sweet, nonalcoholic beverage (which is what I think Ethiopian Diamond’s tastes like). The honey wine was a big hit with my group, with everyone except me tasting it for the first time. As one of my colleagues pointed out, it complimented the tekil gomen very nicely.

It’s been a few years since the Wrigleyville Addis Abeba closed, but I swear the food there was much better than what we experienced yesterday. One colleague speculated that perhaps they were muting the flavors for Evanstonians. I don’t know how likely that is. A big part of my disappointment was that the majority of my group was having Ethiopian for the first time; I wanted them to have a good meal and enjoy the cuisine as much as I do. They all seemed to like the food, but my one colleague familiar with the cuisine and I tried to assure everyone that there’s much better Ethiopian to be had. My colleague is loyal to Ras Dashen, I to Ethiopian Diamond, neither of us have been to the other’s restaurant but insist that our own is the best in Chicago. It’s a lively, silly, ongoing debate, which the rest of our group enjoyed watching. Overall, I don’t think Addis Abeba is a reliable lunch option, which is too bad.

Addis Abeba Ethiopian Cuisine
1322 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201
847-328-5411
847-328-5422
Sun - Thu: Noon to 9:30 PM
Fri & Sat: Noon to 10 PM

Just going by the pic alone, the food looks questionable (clearly, machine-cut veggies have spent some lack-of-quality time in the freezer).

Apparently injera is on the side; I'm used to having the food ladled onto this tef pancake, but I'm honestly not sure how it's actually done in Ethiopia.

I've eaten there several times and quite enjoyed it, although the last time was probably a couple of months ago. However, I've only ever eaten there at lunchtime and was able to order anything off the menu. Are you saying that certain dishes are no longer offered at lunch, as opposed to not being part of the lunch specials?

Re spice level: Never had a problem with that, either -- I hope they haven't started dumbing it down. I've always been asked how spicy I wanted things and the kitchen seemed to comply. Then again, I always order the kitfo raw, so maybe that tells them my digestive system can handle some abuse. Injera's sour enough, too. Man, I hope this place hasn't gone down the tubes.

David Hammond wrote:Apparently injera is on the side; I'm used to having the food ladled onto this tef pancake, but I'm honestly not sure how it's actually done in Ethiopia.

There was also injera under the food at Addis Abeba. My complaint with that was that they ladled the food over the edges of the injera lining the platter. With this meal, we didn't feel especially compelled to do so, but usually a narrow lip of injera all the way around the platter makes it easier to tear into the soaked injera for the last bites of the meal.

cilantro wrote:Are you saying that certain dishes are no longer offered at lunch, as opposed to not being part of the lunch specials?

I think we could have ordered anything off the regular menu, but 1) we thought the lunch menu would be more cost effective and 2) we were afraid that if we strayed from the lunch specials, we would end up waiting more than an hour to get our food given the longer cooking times for a lot of Ethiopian dishes. We definitely could have made wiser decisions.

Evanston Lunch Group™ had a well-liked lunch there last year:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... 8be54f402e

I don't remember there being a more limited lunch menu, but then, it has been over a year ...

The wife and I have had several average meals at Addis Abeba. We have several ethiopian friends who like the place, we just cant seem to get in to it no matter how much we have tried. We have decided a trip further south to Ethiopian Diamond is worth it when we have the desire for cuisine from the horn of africa.

Ethiopian Diamond
6120 N. Broadway St.
Chicago, IL
Tel: (773) 338-6100

iblock9 wrote:we just cant seem to get in to it no matter how much we have tried.

Why not? Really. What's not to like? Juicy meat and veg, an absorbent pancake. I'm not challenging at all. I'm must curious: why not? Especially if your Ethiopian friends dig it...

We have found that the food at AA doesnt "jump out" at us like the food at ED. If i remember correctly Ethiopian Diamond has a much larger variety of Watt and a bigger selection of vegetarian dishes all of which just seemed more flavorful and delicious. It seems like more then a few times ive tasted something at addis abeba and thought that it was just meh. (the kitfo and the spicy beef watt come to mind as well as some of the veggie dishes)

Our Ethiopian friends like Ethiopian Diamond too. however, they live in evanston and dont find the difference significant enough to leave the back yard for dinner when they crave a taste for home. I am going to ask them what they think the main difference between the two places is the next time i see them

I also have to admit that i like the atmosphere at ethiopian diamond more then Addis Abeba, ED it reminds me of a groovy backpacker kind of a place which i find to be a lot of fun. I associate ethiopian meals with large groups (we always seem to go with a lot of people) and maybe ive also had a better overall "experience" at ED.

I was happy when I saw that Addis Abeba had reopened in Evanston, because I remembered it as being one of my favorite Ethiopian restaurants back when it was on Clark Street; I have to say, though, that I was disappointed when I went there a few months ago. I ordered my usual, kitfo; this time, I ordered it lightly cooked (sometimes I opt for it raw). Maybe ordering it cooked at all marked me as a neophyte to Ethiopian food to them; when I got it, it was cooked all the way through, almost to a point of dryness. It had very little spice to it, as well. Perhaps it has something to do with this particular entree--I've had trouble ordering it and getting it nearly raw and properly spiced at other places (most notably Blue Nile). I don't believe they asked me how spicy I wanted it--when asked, I usually order it spicy.

While I wish them well, with so many good options closer to me (I'm partial to Ras Dashen, myself), I'm not likely to rush back.

After reading in Time Out that the Addis Abeba was a readers' choice for Ethiopian food, we decided we should give it a try. I was surprised to find that only four tables were occupied on a Saturday evening. We were greeted warmly and shown to our table. Unfortunately, the quality of service deteriorated considerably after we were seated. Our waitress was absorbed in conversation with two people at another table and failed to even make eye contact with us. We finally had no choice, but to go over and tell her we were ready to order.

We started with a couple of appetizers - sambusas and kitfo. Sambusa, which the menu described as filled with seasoned lentils with onions and jalapeno stuffed in crusty roll, came three to an order and, as stated on the menu, are available only on weekends. They arrived piping hot and the filling was nice and spicy. The kitfo which I had assumed is always served raw, is here offered three different ways: served tere (raw), lublub (rare) or tibs (well done). We ordered ours raw and it was an excellent rendition with a well-balanced blend of kibbeh (spiced butter), cardamom and mitmita (powdered hot peppers).

Sadly, the rest of the meal did not come close to the high standard set by the appetizers. We ordered a variety of dishes:
Mitin Shiro, Yemiser wot, Kinche, Timatim fitfit, Doro wot, Shish-kebob, Doro tibs, Asa.
After the assertive spicing of the appetizers, it was surprising to find the main courses so muted in flavor. The injera which was offered with the food also lacked the distinctive sharp sourness associated with this particular bread. Perhaps, we assumed, spices had been adjusted so as to appeal to a wide range of diners. As a result, while all the dishes tasted fine, none stood out as having any distinctive flavor. As mentioned in an earlier post, the dishes were placed on top of the injera, but covered it so completely, that all of us assumed there was no injera under the food.

All in all, an average dining experience with no real memorable notes.

Jyoti[/i]

Had dinner at Addis Abeba last night, and was pleasantly surprised. Not as good as my all-time-favorite, Queen of Sheba, but since Queen of Sheba is closed, it's nice to have an alternative.

The service was excellent -- cheerful young woman in a t-shirt bearing the restaurant's logo (knife, fork, and spoon in the red "do not" circle). She promptly took our orders, asked about our spice tolerance when we ordered (apparently dishes can be juiced up for those who like spice), checked on us regularly, made sure our water glasses stayed full, and brought us seconds of spiced tea without being asked.

Ordered the yebeg alitcha (lamb stew), zilzil tibs (spiced beef), and gomen (spinach). The spinach was very fresh and perfectly cooked (almost al dente), but was fairly lightly spiced compared to other dishes. However, it was still tasty. The lamb was outstanding and the beef was very good. The salad was bright and fresh and tasted pretty much like the salad at every other Ethiopian place I've dined. My dining companion had the asa (tilapia in berbere sauce), and it was fresh and perfectly cooked.

Had tej (Ethiopian honey wine) with dinner and the spiced tea afterwards. The tea was not as blazingly spicy as at Queen of Sheba, but was very pleasant -- and it's the first place I've been that offers free refills on a specialty tea.

Restaurant was pretty busy for a Wednesday evening. Not packed, but a steady stream and up to five tables occupied at any time.

I wouldn't tell people to turn their backs on Ethiopian places they love, but it was on the whole an extremely positive experience, with the food ranging from good enough to very good, cheerful service, and pleasant decor. Convenient location is a bonus.

Well, two years later and AA was not busy on a Wednesday night (one other party there when we arrived, another came in while we were eating), but still firing on all cylinders.

We were joined by another couple before catching Peter Himmelman at SPACE (just a half-block south), and ordered one Asa (fish) one beef Shish-Kebob, a Meat Combo (2 meats and a veg) and a Veg-Meat Combo (2 veg and a meat), which gave us a substantial portion of the menu to taste, especially as there were a couple extra accompaniments on the tray.

Not a place for those who can't stand their food to be touching, everything came on one large injera-covered tray.
The fish was the star for me last night, with flavors reminding me of the Caribbean, and of Miami crab shacks. As I'd said in a previous post, the Mitin Shiro is an awesome warm chickpea spread, spicy and rich. The only fail was timatim fitfit, which sounded like a bread salad, but was a somewhat bland starch dish.

Prices aren't cheap (the meat entrees average at $14.50), but there's plenty to eat, and delicious.

Longtime Ethiopian restaurant Addis Abeba is no more at 1322 Chicago Ave.

http://chicago.eater.com/2016/8/1/12342 ... ddis-abeba