For the last class of a food writing course, we celebrated with
a group dinner at Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant – an ideal place to meet vegan,
gluten free and carnivore dining demands. Prior to the experience, I’ve never
had Ethiopian food and knew little about the cuisine. Lalibela’s menu is rather
extensive with a surprisingly large amount of meat options.
Although the tibs,
a dish of sautéed meat with vegetables, sounds delicious, the meat is dry, hard
and chewy. Served on a sizzling platter,
the zilzil tibs ($16) was aromatic
when presented, but eating the beef was reminiscent of chewing on leather. The rib
tibs ($14.50) were better with the lamb pieces containing some fat which
helped provide some much needed moisture. Additionally, the garlic onion and
jalapeno tossed with the lamb was more pronounced and flavourful.
Personally, I’d suggest sticking with the stewed and braised
meat dishes instead. The lamb stew’s ($12.50) liquid looked rather pale but was
packed with flavour being made from a mixture of ginger, garlic, aromatic
butter and light sprinkling of curry. If only the liquid was thicker it’d be
even better as it was rather difficult to scoop the liquid with the injera.
The special Ethiopian chicken ($16) were pieces of leg meat
slow-cooked with caramelized onions, berbere
(chili powder), garlic and ginger then served with hard boiled eggs. Although
it was decent, it could use more berbere as
the spiciness was so sedated. I’ve heard Ethiopian cuisine is known for spicy
meats and rich flavourful sauces and hoped a dish with “special” in its name
would be more impressive.
I noticed their menu was out-of-date and items such as the
lamb stew, rib tibs and zilzil tibs are anywhere from $0.50 - $2
higher when the bill was presented. One discrepancy I can understand, but three
out of five dishes is excessive.
The best dish of the night was the vegetarian platter
sampler ($20) an impressive spread of eight thick stews on a piece of injera accompanied with salads. Injera is a risen sourdough made with
teff flour with air pockets giving it a light spongy consistency. All the
little crevices are perfect for scooping up the chickpea, lentil, beet, spinach
and other stews. Traditionally, Ethiopians break off pieces of injera and with their right hand use it
to pick up food.
Although a full platter of injera comes with the meal, the most flavourful piece would be the
one the vegetarian platter is served on, soaking up the different sauces. The
jalapeno laced salad in the middle was delicious and the crunchy cool lettuce a
great contrast against the soft stews.
Lalibela offers traditional Ethiopian coffee ($10 and is
sufficient for 4 people). If you’re interested, order it at the beginning as it
takes time to prepare. First, the beans are brought out in a hot pan to
showcase the intense coffee aroma while they’re roasting. They’re then brought
back into the kitchen to finish roasting then grounded.
After the meal, the coffee is brought back in a beautiful
clay vessel along with lit frankincense billowing out a licorice smelling smoke,
which is said to go well with the coffee. The coffee is poured into quaint
little cups and can be taken with sugar or salt but with no milk. It’s rich and
has a strong coffee flavour but not as intense as espresso. On the side is a
large platter of popcorn; our waitress explained that in Ethiopia individuals
tend to have snack foods while enjoying coffee.
Finishing our writing course with a meal was a great idea! I
love the light injera where you feel
you can have piece after piece without feeling stuffed. The vegetarian platter
is a good choice for trying a variety of stews and ideal for the summer as it’s
light. Eating at Lalibela was a unique experience, opening my taste buds to a
world of new flavours.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 1202 Danforth Avenue
Address: 1202 Danforth Avenue
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
