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100 Things 3: Dinner at T's Place
Jun. 30th, 2012 07:22 pmI think I am going to limit the number of times I can make a '100 things' entry about restaurants. Don't get me wrong, I love trying new restaurants. But I want to make this a get-out-of-my-comfort-zone project, and trying a new restaurant, let's face it, doesn't take getting too much extra effort on my part. So, maybe, no more than one out of four or so. This is to push me a bit to try new things.
But I'll do it for this entry. Yesterday, I got home from work and thought, let's try a new restaurant? What type? I did Google searches around my home, trying to think of cuisines I'd be willing to try. I thought of all the African immigrants that we've been seeing here in Minneapolis, and for my third search tried 'Ethiopian restaurants.' And I found one near my home, T's place. One phrase on the menu: "Authentic Ethiopian-Asian Cuisine."
Say what? Ethiopian-Asian? Huh?
So I went to check it out. I initially sat outside, but to my intense annoyance, a smoker lit up at the next table over. So I moved back indoors (at the Google map page for the restaurant, you can see a 360 degree picture of the space indoors - see here). It's a pleasant space, and the music was fun, sort of a funky cool fusion jazz mix.
The menu explains:
I waited a half an hour for my appetizer. This seemed a little odd, since I was literally the only customer in the restaurant. It was tasty, with a nicely crisp exterior, tender and flaky. And the dipping sauce was a nice sweet and sour accent. But they definitely lost points because the internal stuffing, the lentil mix, although flavorfully spicy, was cold. I doubt it was supposed to come to the table that way.
So now they had a couple strikes against them. I waited another fifteen minutes for my main course, getting more and more dubious. But the chicken curry lived up to the waitress's recommendation. A subtle curry sauce, and with a vegetable/chicken mix. The vegetables were perfectly cooked, crisp/tender. It was a generous serving, and I took home enough in a box for another meal.
So: a mixed success. I'd be willing to try T's Place again.
{Take the 100 Things challenge!}
But I'll do it for this entry. Yesterday, I got home from work and thought, let's try a new restaurant? What type? I did Google searches around my home, trying to think of cuisines I'd be willing to try. I thought of all the African immigrants that we've been seeing here in Minneapolis, and for my third search tried 'Ethiopian restaurants.' And I found one near my home, T's place. One phrase on the menu: "Authentic Ethiopian-Asian Cuisine."
Say what? Ethiopian-Asian? Huh?
So I went to check it out. I initially sat outside, but to my intense annoyance, a smoker lit up at the next table over. So I moved back indoors (at the Google map page for the restaurant, you can see a 360 degree picture of the space indoors - see here). It's a pleasant space, and the music was fun, sort of a funky cool fusion jazz mix.
The menu explains:
T's Place is owned by Chef Tee Belachew. Tee was born in Ethiopia and has been in the Twin Cities for 16 years. Tee became passionate about cooking at a young age when his Auntie Wyzro Bezunesh Belachew taught him traditional home cooking.I placed an order for one of the appetizers, Yemisir Sambusa (Lentil-stuffed pastries) and I asked the waitress for a recommendation for the main menu, and she suggested the Chicken Curry.
Tee became a partner with Singaporian Chef Kin Lee in 2002 after they went on a culinary tour of Europe and Asia to research spices. In 2006, Tee decided to go out on his own and establish T's Place. All of his food is made from scratch and features authentic and flavorful meals full of delicious blends of mouth watering spices.
I waited a half an hour for my appetizer. This seemed a little odd, since I was literally the only customer in the restaurant. It was tasty, with a nicely crisp exterior, tender and flaky. And the dipping sauce was a nice sweet and sour accent. But they definitely lost points because the internal stuffing, the lentil mix, although flavorfully spicy, was cold. I doubt it was supposed to come to the table that way.
So now they had a couple strikes against them. I waited another fifteen minutes for my main course, getting more and more dubious. But the chicken curry lived up to the waitress's recommendation. A subtle curry sauce, and with a vegetable/chicken mix. The vegetables were perfectly cooked, crisp/tender. It was a generous serving, and I took home enough in a box for another meal.
So: a mixed success. I'd be willing to try T's Place again.
{Take the 100 Things challenge!}