Ghenet--Vegan Ethiopian Dining. A Review and A Perspective
Going out to eat as a Vegan, especially when you're dining with Non-Vegans, can be a trying task. (I should know, I've been a Vegan for four whole days. And I still don't know if I should capitalize Vegan or leave it all small. Opinions?)
ANYWAY!
Already, I feel the pressure of finding restaurants that are suitable for meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike. You don't want to put anyone out of their way, but what fun is it if you go out to eat and the garden salad is your only dining option? No fun. No fun at all, I tell you.
Enter Ghenet.
And I--I am that very angel. Look at her eyes. They are like mine.
Ha.
In Ethiopian cooking, it is against religious dietary restrictions to cook the vegetarian dishes in an animal product. (I assume most restaurants attend to this restriction--can't be sure, though. Do you research!) Whereas the meat dishes are often cooked in butter (yum), the vegetarian dishes at Ghenet use vegetable oil. And they do both very well! My guest last night got a spicy beef plate with collards and mushrooms and ate it up like THAT. Myself, I got the vegetarian combo plate--four small piles of beautiful stews--mushroom, lentil, white bean and collards--on injera, which is an Ethiopian (gluten-free!) sourdough-y flatbread. You eat the stews with the bread itself, scooping it up using your hands. The whole process of eating an Ethiopian meal is very sensual and hearty and communal. I like that kind of eating, and I like vegetarian (or vegan) cooking that doesn't call for adjusting a dish--it just is what it is. Unapologetically hearty and spicy and filling and good.
After dinner, I was completely satisfied. A glass of red wine completed the meal. I will definitely be going back to Ghenet. Aghen and aghen.
Eek.
