Boston: Addis Red Sea

Contrary to popular belief, the mini-metropolis otherwise known as Boston does have more than clam chowdahs to offer. And no, I'm not referring to the hearty Italian fare at the North End or the cutting edge New American cafes on Newbury St. What I'm talking about is exotic cuisine. Exciting ethnic food that tastes like a shock, but leaves you longing for more—food that is different somehow.

Are you ready for Ethiopian?

On a pleasant Wednesday evening (low 70s, light breeze, clear skies), a friend and I boarded the T and got lost in the vast Backbay district. Now the restaurant really wasn't difficult to find but because yours truly is horrible at directions and the hostess at the restaurant wasn't of much help either, we arrived after great struggle (yes, we decided to cab a three-minute ride) with our party moods affected.

Yet, in spite of all our predisposed feelings that could bias this review, this intimate basement eatery impressed.

Most exotic restaurants boast amazing décor and succeed in creating this “exotic” atmosphere but their food, unfortunately, falls short of expectations. Addis was one of the few that delivered equal parts ambiance and culinary brilliance.

Stepping into the 2-floor underground complex, you are greeted by friendly hostesses, all fluent speakers of Ethiopian dialects, dressed in resplendent white traditional garbs. On the upper level, intricately painted animal canvases stretch along the walls as hand-woven basket tables stand. A small bar area rests on the lower level.

To personalize each seating, our table even talked to us: Presented with an exhaustive menu complete with vegetarian, vegan, and other carnivore-friendly entrees (chicken, lamb, beef, and seafood), we decided it was best to order their signatures. We started with the Sambusa, a savory pastry with a lightly fried crispy exterior and rich, soft fillings of either beef, lentils, or root vegetables.

The opposing textures were a delight to the mouth and I was pleasantly relieved that this dish didn't have any of the oily residues so often found on the surface of fried food. We chose the lentil option to balance the heavier meat entrée to come, and we were surprised by the fresh, full lentil peas within. Crispier and more delicate than an Indian samosa, the sambusa pockets burst forth with cumin, garlic, onion and hints of nutmeg.

To gain a wide variety of dishes, we ordered the very affordable Addis Red Sea Special Combo, a combination plate for two that included Doro Wot, tender slices of chicken stewed in red pepper, onions, garlic, ginger, and cardamoms; Doro Alcha, chicken cooked with a milder sauce of butter, onions, and ginger; Lega-Tibs, rich chunks of beef marinated with green peppers, rosemary, and black pepper; Gomen Wot, a diced collard vegetable dish; and a house salad, chopped tomatoes in a zesty lemon sauce.

The combo dish arrived on a large round, thin piece of flat bread on which the above stews were served upon, such that the bread acted as a serving plate. According to my friend (who watches the Food Network), it is considered bad etiquette to eat the bread plate, so do keep this in mind.

Meanwhile, thinly sliced spongy bread wraps came on a side dish, and we used these to dip into the tasty stews. Finger food had never been more fun and acceptable, but it was something about the communal spirit of sharing one plate and one table with your companion that enriched the entire experience.

After sampling each dish, I began to notice an interesting pattern in the way the food was served. Each dish was strategically placed so that their tastes directly enhanced and complimented one another. The spicy Doro Wot chicken dish, stewed in red pepper sauce, for example, was placed in the center, aligning with the tomato house salad and the Gomen Wot vegetable dish on a diagonal axis.

Had it not been for the lemon juice in the tomato house salad, I would never have noticed the subtle flavors of ginger in the doro wot. And although the gomen wot was the most disappointing dish because of its seeming blandness, it was necessary to cool the fires of the heavy spices in the doro wot. Likewise, the rich savory beef on the left was balanced by the mild silky slices of chicken simmered in a light butter and ginger sauce to the right.

Less pungent than Indian and less sharply acidic than Thai, Addis' Ethiopian cuisine was unique in its diverse layers of flavors in every dish.

The best thing? We spent only about $17 USD per person (the combo cost $24.95 and the sambusa $6.95). We were stuffed.

Addis Red Sea Restaurant: Four Stars.

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Reservations: Only if more than 2 people
Good for groups: Yes
Romantic: Yes
Quiet: Yes
In short: A wonderful cost-effective exotic dinner experience. Consider the combos.

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Addis Red Sea

544 Tremont St

Boston, MA 02116

Tel: (617) 426-8727

Mon-Fri: 5 to 11 P.M.

Sat & Sun: Noon to 11 P.M.

London: Abeno Too

yes, finally we're back!! our sincere apologies for the delay - the two of us have been caught up by busy schedules alongside our regular procrastination. i know that fat udon is having a hectic time at her college right now, and here i just wanna say good luck to her with working on her papers (not that she needs it anyway, as you will soon discover, she's oozing with talent when it comes to writing in general).

oh well, as for me, i've been working and travelling here and there...to give you a bit of my background, i'm currently on a gap year, and the idea is for me to rethink whether what i've been doing at uni is right for me...so i'm basically trying out different jobs to get a taste of working in a variety of industries. i've also been travelling to various places in the past year to relax and to experience different cultures. actually i've started to like travelling around so much, i'm a bit worried about how i should manage my finances.....

anyway, enough about me. (i'll get fat udon to do one paragraph like this too when she writes her piece, hehe~) so i went on a trip to england about 3 weeks ago, met up with some friends and visited lots of lovely places such as durham, newcastle, york, nottingham, coventry.....and of course, last but not least, london!!! shopping is amazing as usual - there's carnaby street which is this v.hip place with lots and lots of cool shops, i was simply in awe of everything that i came across and kept throwing away cash!! it's impossible to miss major stores on oxford street...and covent garden, which has always been one of my favourite shopping spots, is as sophisticated as ever.


on the day before i left, i decided to go for some last-minute shopping with a friend. after a very brief walk through covent garden, we were originally planning to head to chinatown at leicester square for lunch - but then we walked past Abeno Too and my friend said she's read some good reviews about this restaurant, so we agreed on giving it a try.

this relatively small Japanese restaurant was clean and neat, with seating arrangements similar to sushi bars - a large square of tall seats surrounded a few tables by the side. the white/silver/wood furnishing and french windows added a bright yet peaceful side to it, and along with the light music played in the background, the general atmosphere was similar to a sophisticated cafe where you can relax and have delicate food and drink for the whole afternoon undisturbed.

originally we thought it served teppanyaki (the Japanese BBQ, where the food is grilled in front of the customer), but then we looked at the menu and it declared the restaurant's specialty to be "okonomi-yaki". now try guessing what it looks and tastes like with the following description!

seeing that we had no idea about what we should order, someone came over to help us out. normally you'd expect that there would only be Japanese staff even in these overseas restaurants, but a brit, who we assumed to be one of the maitre d's, very helpfully explained about the okonomi-yaki in detail. later we found out that he speaks fluent Japanese and has a Japanese wife!! well, the infiltration of culture is not just unidirectional from the east to the west after all...

the okonomi-yaki, he said, is basically a mixture of rice, egg, and whatever toppings chosen by the customer, supported by a special dough at the bottom, with additional bits of seasonings such as seaweed and Japanese ginger. we had their daily special which was shrimp and salmon. here's what it looked like before he started cooking:

half-way through the frying:

ok, before we look at the final products, let's check out the side dishes.

the miso soup looks more or less the same, but the taste was great, especially when the texture of the beancurd was optimally soft. and do not underestimate the beans - as commonplace as they might seem, the topping was actually sesame instead of what you'd probably assumed as garlic. it was deliciously fresh and appetite-provoking as a starter.

After an anticipation of roughly 5-10 mins, it was finally done!!! take a look at it with the Japanese topping and sauces:



i wish you were there to smell it - interestingly, it didn't smell like omelette at all though there was such a high egg content - it was almost each ingredient's smell was distinguisable but they all merged into one unique smell!! you can imagine how long the wait was for us. the taste, needless to say, was reflected by the smell - it was so much more than what we'd expected to be "a form of rice omelette". room for improvement, though - the salmon wasn't fresh enough and had a bit of the stinky fish taste when cooked....but the shrimps balanced this flaw. in general, it was a light but pleasant meal!!

seeing how good the main dish was, the two of us decided to order desserts as well - but i would only recommend the white chocolate French ice-cream becoz of the special flavour. it didn't taste too milky or vanilla-like, but instead it reminded me of the Hokkaido white chocolate. the fruits/ice-cream one that my friend had was ok, but my mocha sundae was too sweet and heavy for the stomach....

we haven't developed a proper grading system yet, but below is a summary of the above (score out of 5):

*food - main dish: 4.5; dessert: 3.5
*ambience - 4
*service - 5
*pricing - 4. i forgot to mention: it was around 12 pounds per person, including desserts and drinks. i think this is pretty reasonable for central london.
*location - 4.5. less than 5 mins' walk from leicester square tube station, also easy access from covent garden on foot.

check out their webpage posted as a link here!! for some reason, only the last two options are working, but the contact details of their 2 shops and some photos of food on their menu are available.

that's the end of my little food venture in london. i recommend going there if you wanna check out this Japanese specialty as it is rather rare in london. hope you enjoyed reading this....we'll be updating more often!! =)

AHOY!

BigEater.com is run by 2 big girls with 2 big appetites, and 2 equally big passions to share their love of budget-conscious dining in 2 big cities (namely, Boston & Hong Kong).

Neither claiming to be gourmets nor foodies, Fat Udon & Big Soba offer their big eating adventures to the delectable world of blogging.

Stay tuned!