Riotcarrot Runs a Race.: Addis on the Cape- Foodie Review.

Part II of my Capetown adventures, since my focus is pretty much zero lately and I get bored of writing in maybe 4 min. I think my brain is replenishing neurotransmitters after an intense period of flow (aside: Great podcast on brain performance and extreme athletics: Becoming Superman. Steven Kotler's book, The Rise of Superman is definitely on my reading list.)

So here's a restaurant review and a couple random pics of food:

Addis on the Cape:

Ethiopian food is something I love, but rarely ever indulge in because it is generally hard to come by. There are a couple of great places in Chicago, but they are up North and I hate driving and they tend to be pricey, so I only go during restaurant week when there's a set menu that includes the wine. When I was searching for top restaurants in Capetown, Addis popped up on several lists. I liked that it wasn't on the Wharf where all the touristy restaurants are located. It is slightly off the beaten path. A reservation was easily secured through Quando, an online reservation service similar to Open Table. Our reservation was at 7:30 on Friday, which in retrospect should have been later, since I barely had enough time to get all dolled up and the restaurant was only about 1/4-1/2 full when we arrived. It didn't get hoppin' until maybe 8, 8:30.

The ambiance: A narrow, 2 story building. We were seated on the second floor. It was hot. The AC was on, but not entirely effective. It was okay, after we adjusted although I had a migraine when I left, so maybe it was the heat. The decor seemed authentic to me, or at least like they tried. I felt like I was going to have an experience and not just a dinner, which was definitely a positive.
The chairs were small, wood and cute, I'm guessing traditional, although I've seen floor cushions at other Ethiopian restaurants. The glass circular table was covered with a grass mat tent top, which was removed when we were seated. This all helped to set the mood.

The Service: Our waiter was super sweet, funny and had rockin' dreads. He was more attentive in the beginning and unfortunately, the service dwindled at bit when he got slammed with tables, which was understandable. I was just a little envious of the explanations of the food and culture that the other tables seemed to be getting. Overall, the service was good.

The Foods:

We ordered the set vegetarian meal with teff injera and Tej, honey wine. Injera is large spongy bread cooked on a special griddle. The Wots and curries are places on a large circular injera, which soaks up all the gravy and good stuff. You used rolled injera to scoop up the different wots. The starter course was deep fried injera with 2 dipping sauces- one garlic and one spinach/ricotta. The garlic sauce was amazing. The selection of wots with the main course were also delicious- a selection of dals, potatoes and salads. Desert was a let down and nothing special- a selection of baklava or berries and icecream. The desert service was special- a tray with Turkish coffee in a fancy metal pot, popcorn and sage incense. I just wish the meaning behind the coffee ceremony was explained. I'm too unfocused to Google right now...but if someone wants to explain it to me in the comments, that would be pretty awesome.

Random story about Tej... the first time I had honey wine was when I was visiting my honorary big bro, Kelby, over ten years ago in DC. I was relatively inexperienced in Ethiopian food and I dragged him there because a random Peta person handing out fliers on a corner recommended it to us. We ordered a bottle of Tej because isn't that what you do, when you eat Ethiopian? It was SO SOUR, but we thought that was Tej was about. It's not... I realized years later that that bottle was totally rancid, but we were naive and ignorant and just though it sucked. I'm glad I gave it another try because non rancid Tej is yummy.

Food Porn: