A new Ethiopian restaurant opened in downtown Davenport about a year and a half ago and my wife and I had been thinking about going there to check it out, but never made the time to do so. One recent weekend, a friend of ours who used to work with my wife years ago came back for the weekend. She and her husband are pretty adventurous when it comes to their tastes of cuisine and it turned out that they eat quite regularly at Ethiopian restaurants in their hometown of Indianapolis. My wife had mentioned something about the new Ethiopian restaurant we had and since our friend knew about the food, we decided to have her accompany us for our first visit to Taste of Ethiopia.
Genet Moraetes grew up in Ethiopia when a civil war broke when she was a teenager. The strife between the junta government and anti-government rebels continued for a number of years before Genet decided that she needed to flee the war-torn country for her own safety. She got a student visa for a college in the Washington D.C. area and left Ethiopia at the age of 25.
After landing in the Washington area and entering school, Genet worked in a restaurant as a waitress. It was at this restaurant where she met George Moraetes, a native of Davenport who was stationed at a nearby Army base. The two started a romance and eventually were married, then moved back to the Quad Cities where George worked as a telecommunications technician.
In the Quad Cities, Genet Moraetes found two other ladies who grew up in Ethiopia - Tigist Anberger and Saba Gebresilassie - and the three ladies began to make foods that they grew up with. Friends and family were impressed with their Ethiopian foods that the three decided to open a food tent on the deck of the Freight House Farmers Market in 2016. Open every Saturday from May thru October, their Ethiopian specialties were such a hit that it gave George and Genet Moraetes an idea. Why not open their own brick and mortar restaurant?
A space that had been vacated by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society opened up at the old Union Station building just across the street from the Freight House Farmers Market. The Moraetes petitioned the city to lease the space for 5 years, and in October of 2018 that request was granted by the city. The couple and family members spent the next few months renovating the space and hoped to be open by the spring of 2019.
However, the Flood of 2019 made them change their plans. The area around the building was inundated with flood waters and the Moraetes had to push back their opening by a few months. Construction workers putting the finishing touches on the interior of the restaurant had to wade through flood waters to get into the place. But by July of 2019, floodwaters had receded and Taste of Ethiopia opened up for business soon thereafter.
We parked in the lot on the north side of the building just south of River Drive and just north of LeClaire Park in downtown Davenport. (see map) The front door to Taste of Ethiopia is on the south side of the building and we walked around the building and up the ramp to go in.
We were pleasantly surprised with the dining area at Taste of Ethiopia. Hard wood floors, dark-red table tops, a well-lit atmosphere, and a very clean environment is what we found. A young lady by the name of Sonia came out to greet us as we came in and told us we could sit about anywhere. There was an outdoor patio, but it was a little cool in the later part of the day/early evening, so we sat at a high-top table inside. Sonia dropped off menus for us and I was pleasantly surprised to see they had beer and wine available behind the little bar area. My wife got a glass of Barricas Malbec, our friend got a glass of Bricco Riella Moscato d'Asti, and I got a pint of the Goose Island IPA they had on tap.
Looking through the menu, our friend guided us through the unfamiliar terrain of Ethiopian food. They had primarily beef dishes, but there was a spicy chicken entree - Ye'Doro Kay Wot - and a fried pollack fish feature, as well. There were a handful of vegetarian options on the menu, as well. And Taste of Ethiopia had a number of items that could be shared as an appetizer or as a stand alone meal. The Ye'Siga Sambusa featured hand-wrapped shells of pastry filled with steak, green peppers and onions. The Loaded Tib Fries sounded interesting as they featured beef cooked with ginger and garlic and served on fries and topped with scallions. They also had Ethiopian-style tacos - a beef taco plate (spicy or non-spicy beef) and a fried fish taco plate. For the less adventurous, Taste of Ethiopia had chicken strips, catfish nuggets, and chicken wings (boneless or bone-in).
After she explained many of the items on the menu, our friend suggested getting two of the combination plates for 2 people - a meat combo and a vegetarian combo. With the meat combo, if came with 4 sides and the vegetarian combo came with 6 choices of sides.
With the meat combo, we ordered the spicy chicken and the Ye'Siga Kay Wot, a spicy beef simmered with onions, garlic and spices. Our sides with the meat combo included spicy lentils, regular lentils, cabbage and green beans with carrots.
Our vegetarian combo consisted of a beet salad, gomen (Ethiopian collard greens), spicy lentils, cabbage, potatoes with carrots, and a chickpea stew called shiro. The items on both combo plates came on a bed of Ethiopian flat bread called injera. And rolled up injera bread came on the side.
From there, our friend basically showed us how to eat the food. The injera bread could be unrolled or torn off the plate to dip into the sauces or vegetable dishes. She took some of the spicy beef and put some on the injera before eating it, similar to dressing a tortilla in a Mexican restaurant. The injera had an interesting flavor and had sort of a spongy consistency. My wife and I both liked it.
As for the overall meal, well, it was very interesting, to say the least. For Ethiopian food newbies, I would have to say we liked the spicy beef and the spicy chicken selections. I'm not big on lentils, but I really enjoyed the spicy lentils that our friend picked out. My wife enjoyed the beet salad a lot, and she seemed to like the chickpea stew, too.
After we finished dinner, our friend said that her husband always likes to get an Ethiopian coffee after he finishes his meal. She said that it was more like espresso and I like to have a large espresso a couple times a week. I usually don't like to have espresso at night, but it was a Saturday night and I figured I'd be up later than usual anyhow.
Well, the Ethiopian coffee just about knocked me on my ass! The caffeine kick completely zipped me up. It was sweet and similar to espresso in taste, but it was a bit more watery. I joked to my wife and friend that it was like drinking liquid meth. Wow! I think I was up until about midnight that night and it was around 6:30 p.m. when I finished the coffee.
I'd always wondered about Ethiopian food and now we finally had the chance to try it at the somewhat new Taste of Ethiopia in downtown Davenport. I don't know if there was anything we disliked about the place - the food was fascinating, the service was friendly, the place was clean and comfortable, and the overall vibe was pleasant. The food was akin to Indian food, but only in the sense that it was sort of an eclectic comfort food. George Moraetes dropped by the table to chat after dinner and we told him that it our first visit and that my wife and I would be back. Even if you're skeptical of Ethiopian food, you should at least give the Taste of Ethiopia a try if you're a rookie at Ethiopian cuisine.
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