Den Den Restaurant: A Taste of Eritrea, a Country Since '93!

We've encountered some skepticism that we'll be able to achieve our goal of eating the cuisines of 52 different countries in a year (you know who you are, M.F.), but we have gone confidently forward, knowing Chicago will provide for us.  And Time Out magazine just served us up an easy one!  Beth was thumbing throw an issue and read about Den Den, an Eritrean restaurant in Rogers Park.  Where is Eritrea you ask?  Or you might also ask, is it really a country, or perhaps the name of some lesser known internal organ located, probably, near the appendix?  Well, according to extensive Internet research (aka Wikipedia), up until 1993, it was just the northern part of Ethiopia along the Red Sea, but they gained their independence after a 30 year civil war.  Our first question was how this food would be different from Ethiopian, but the Time Out article helpfully pointed out that this part of Africa had been an Italian colony for many years and that link had influenced the cuisine.  With images of injera bread and meatballs dancing in our heads, we set off on the 151 bus to discover the tastes of Eritrea!

A Note About the Pictures
Sometimes in a state of anticipation, we get ahead of ourselves.  As you can see from the photos connected to this entry, we were so ready to dive into the meal, that it was half way through before we realized that we hadn't taken pictures.  Oops!  No food blog awards for us. So, just humor us and use your imagination to picture what the food looked like before we ripped into it.

Drinks
The place has a full bar, but after a long weekend out having a good time with friends at various watering holes, we took a pass on the alcohol.  We discovered that, like us, Eritreans like their coffee.  So, we ordered up some right away, and soon heard a faint popcorn popping sound from the kitchen.  Then our server brought out the beans in a small pan to show us how she was roasting them.  Since the beans were whole, they didn't smell like brewing coffee--this had more emphasis on a hearty, toasty roasting smell than the finished product of coffee as we know it.  Once the beans were roasted and ground and transformed into the magical liquid we know as coffee, it was brought to us in a ceramic carafe.  This aromatic brew was poured onto some milk in a small cup.  Add a touch of sugar and it was worth the wait!

Food
One of the things that drew us for an early lunch/brunch to Den Den was the offer of Eritrean breakfast (they open at 10am).  Of course, by the time we got there we were in the mood for lunch, but we loved the idea of an ethnic brunch!  The helpful menu gave breakfast options and then broke out lunch and dinner entrees by the type of meat or vegetarian.  Since Neil's always up for lamb, he tried the alich'a begi'e, which was lamb in a mild sauce with curry, garlic, onion, and bell pepper.  Beth went with bamia, which was diced okra with beef in a medium-spicy, tomato based stew.  As with Ethiopian food, injera bread made from teff flour takes the place of utensils.  This spongy, tangy bread (think giant crepe) comes in large, flat circular pieces that you can tear off to scoop up the food.  A large piece also sits under your food, which is served on a single, large platter.

As you can see, we had no trouble tearing up the injera and using it to scoop up food

Eritrean is also like Ethiopian in that both of our entrees were brought out on one platter with various sides.  The four that came out with our food were red lentils, yellow split peas, chopped greens, and a mix of stewed string beans, potatoes, and carrots.  As with all the food, these were seasoned wonderfully and layered with flavor.  These sides were as much a highlight of the meal as the entrees.  For Neil's entree, the lamb was cooked in small chunks along with the onions and green bell peppers.  It wasn't very saucy, but whatever the sauce was that this was cooked in gave it a great flavor that mixed well with the variety of sides.  For Beth's entree, the okra was stewed with chunks of beef in a slightly spicy tomato based sauce.  Taken together, the entrees, the sides, and the injera bread made for a great meal!

Our platter, about two thirds of the way eaten

Overall
This restaurant is the owners' second location after they lost his first to a library expansion project (yay, libraries!).  It has a large, nicely decorated interior with plenty of color and art work reflecting the Eritrean culture.  Incense is burning and the aroma mixes with the great food and roasting coffee to give the place a great smell to go with the pleasing interior.  The menu is nicely prepared and gives good descriptions of what everything entails, as well as photos.  The owner and the staff were helpful and pleasant and made for a great lunch at Den Den.

Foreign Factor
6 of 10  Eritrean cuisine is fairly alien for most American palates, but this place scores points on the foreign factor just for being in Chicago.  The nice interior and decor and the welcoming staff make you feel at home quickly despite the different nature of the food and it's presentation.

What We Learned
Eritrean food is awfully similar to Ethiopian food.  While the terminology differs some, the presentation and style of the food is very familiar, and is as well seasoned and flavorful as Ethiopian.  There was spaghetti on the menu, as a nod to their Italian past, but the item that struck as as most Italian was the super delicious coffee.  Some people might be a bit put off about not using utensils, but the injera bread makes for a filling but not too heavy meal, and Neil usually manages to not wear any more of it home on himself that he does at a normal restaurant.

More
In the why-didn't-we think-of-this-category, there's someone out there who has managed to turn eating into a Phd: see this blog entry.