Tag Archives: Ethiopian

Pero!

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I’ve had an urge to eat with my hands for some time now.  Our winter has dragged on into seeming infiniti and the thaw we wait for may never come.  I need to see some sunshine and greenery so that this underlying desire I have can be satisfied by picking flowers or berries or something.

The occasion was my birthday and so Pero it was. We were mindful of finding a place that could offer us vegan and given that the restaurant serves Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine we knew we were in the right place.  While meat is on the menu, extensive vegetarian and vegan choices are available.

Located on Bloor St. between Christie and Ossington, it was within easy walking distance from our place but the night was frigid, our Toronto winter stubbornly refusing to break. As we opened the door we passed through a heavy red curtain and left the cold and grey of winter behind us.   We were ushered into the warm ambiance of a candlelit room decorated in deep hues of red interspersed with raffia tagines.  The walls were adorned with African art and photography, and each table was situated so that diners could enjoy privacy.

Well, well.  What a first impression!

We were the first to arrive before our friends and were seated at a table tucked away at the side.  We had hoped to try an Ethiopian beer but they only had the typical bottled domestics and imports. Nevertheless, the Heineken went well with our meal.  All 9 of them.  And that was just for us two.

 

 

We were offered the cold shiro as an appetizer, which came with little rolled strips of  injera, a yeast bread made from fermented teff flour which has a stretchy consistency making it easy to dip or scoop food with.   The shiro is a smooth, slightly spicy stew made from ground chick peas.  It was so good that when our platters came, we wouldn’t let our server take the leftovers away.   Our platter was adorned with Asmarino Tsebhi, roasted chick peas in berbere sauce and the fresh palate cleanser Mamma Asmara made from collard greens, onions and green peppers.  We also loved the Timitimo Tsebhi, a lentil stew in a seasoned red sauce.  The platter sat on a thin layer of the injera, now infused with the various spices and sauces from the stews – delicious!   Too bad I didn’t turn on the flash on my camera because my pictures don’t do the platter justice (thank you Pero for yours).
Our dinner took two hours which is how long dinner should take when we give it the time it deserves. The staff was informative, and attentive to a fault.  We were in no hurry to leave because the cold winter was beckoning.  After dinner the owner invited us up to the bar for a complimentary digestif, a shot of a lemon-flavoured liqueur, the name of which I missed because he was busy setting the bar on fire (for effect only, of course).

 

The light show was fun, and a nice touch at the end of an almost perfect meal, spent indoors, with friends, eating with our hands.

 

 

 Not bad for four people and 16 beers too. 

Thanks to Pero for pictures 1 and 2.