| For those interested in challenging the palate and exploring what other nations have to offer in the way of cooking and dining, look no further than our own International Avenue, situated on 17th Avenue S.E. This bustling and colourful thoroughfare has an abundance of small, authentic eateries from around the globe that tend to be great bargains.
One such spot is Fassil Ethiopian Restaurant. Owned and operated by husband and wife team Moges Seid and Rekiya Mebrat, Fassil is their second Canadian restaurant venture, having operated a similar restaurant in Vancouver after immigrating to Canada from Ethiopia.
Fassil sits inconspicuously at the end of one of many strips of shops and businesses on International Avenue. Inside, the large space provides a modest décor with soft gold curtains covering the walls, small touches such as a mural on one wall and Ethiopian music. My friend and I settled into one of the many long tables more appropriate for large groups than the two of us, but there were no smaller options.
Rather than use utensils, Ethiopian food is served with a spongy bread called enjera for scooping and dipping the various vegetable and meat dishes into manageable finger food. The focus is sharing, interacting and slowing down the eating so that the meal is more of an experience. The vegetable and meat dishes are cooked using a variety of traditional spices including fresh basil, hot mustard seeds, earthy cardamom, sharp ginger roots and bright turmeric, amongst others. The flavours are anything but bland.
As we perused the menu, some fellow diners saw our indecision and enthusiastically recommended some dishes. They had discovered Fassil through another restaurant review and were more than pleased with the recommendation. We took their advice and chose two dishes from the menu to share.
All the food arrived on a large round piece of enjera fanned artistically into large individual dollops for tasting. The vegetarian combination ($12) included kik wot, a tasty mixture of peas, onions, bright coloured turmeric and other spices; misr wot, a hot and spicy lentil paste; gomen, a chewy boiled spinach mixture; alicha, a stewed root vegetable mix and shiro wot, a puréed tomato, chick pea and hot chili sauce. We dug in with our individual enjeras, whose slightly sour bread flavour absorbed and complemented the hot vegetable dishes.
Placed in the middle of the vegetable combo was our order of yebeg tibs ($13), tender pieces of stir-fried lamb with thin slices of onions and green peppers. The spices were perfectly blended and absorbed into the lamb strips.
With all those spices, we needed to cool our mouths during the meal. My friend ordered a bottle of Harar ($5), a light and refreshing Ethiopian import beer while I stuck with ice water. They also offer an imported dark beer. Later in our meal, a young family came in, and as they were trying to decide what to try, asked us what we had ordered. We filled them in on Fassil’s great choices. I have rarely chatted with so many different diners during one meal, and it was nice.
As we paid the bill, Mebrat came out of the kitchen and chatted with us. A little shy at first, she opened up and gave some recommendations for our next visit, including trying the fresh Ethiopian coffee beans she roasts herself for a superbly fresh flavour. For less than $30 including food and beer, we were full and satisfied. It’s an incredible deal for great, homemade food and Fassil provides an unfussy atmosphere encouraging sharing and a community spirit.
Fassil is located at 107-3608 17 Avenue S.E.; phone, 387-0555. |
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