Makeda Ethiopian restaurant in New Brunswick

[phaelon56]

We stopped in here this past Sunday expecting to stay for dinner. It's a large and beautiful room with subdued lighting and traditonal (Ethiopian traditional). It was empty at 6 PM or so and we were seated immediately. I was truly shocked when I saw the prices. Entrees that are typically $9-12 in the Ethiopian restaurants I've been in previously were $20-24. The sampler platter that typically runs $12-14 for one person in most places was priced at $46 for two people. Also very surprising was a $7.00 sharing charge for all entrees other than the sampler (which is already for two). Every other place I've been in simply served all entrees for a group on a large platter with one piece of injera and all at the table could share as desired.

Hey... yes I'm frugal but I also don't hesitate to spend a fair amount of money on a really good meal. Is there something special that they offer or is a whole lot of money for atmosphere?

[phaelon56]

Forgot to mention.... we walked after seeing the prices and tried dinner Terra Nova instead - report posted in this forum).

[Rosie]

The last time I was at this restaurant was '96 and dinner for 2 with 2 glasses of wine, an extra side dish, tax and tip was $40. I know that was a long time ago. Rents can be high in New Brunswick and I assume you are paying for the atmosphere.

[coquille]

Makeda isn't cheap, but the food is just delicious. That sampler for 2, btw, really serves 3. That $7 sharing charge is easily ignored if a table for 3, for instance, orders that sampler and an appetizer or a bottle of wine (a few interesting choices, btw). Terra Nova, OTOH, is very not worth the $, IMHO.

[phaelon56]

I tend to agree with you on Terra Nova based on the price/value ratio although that's based on only one meal there. I'm still amazed at Makeda's prices. Queen of Sheba in NYC has atmosphere not as nice as Makeda but far better than the other Ethiopian restaurants in NYC. An appetizer and a single sampler could definitely feed two people and no sharing charge. Total would be less than half the price of Makeda. I can understand a 25-30% increase for atmopshere but double the price? Regardless, I will try it at some point to see for myself. By the way, do they offer the Ethiopian coffee ceremony?

[coquille]

Er... not sure about that, as I'm not much of a coffee drinker. If coffee's your thing, though, about 5 minutes north of New Brunswick on Route 27 in Highland Park is 7 Hills of Istanbul, where one of their claims to fame is their Turkish coffee offering.

[Rosie]

The food at 7 Hills is very good also!

[dbrociner]

I'm reviving this thread to ask two questions: first, what exactly is Ethiopian food? Second, has anyone been to this restaurant on a weekend when they have music? How loud is the music and how hard is it to have a conversation while the music is being played?

[Rosie]

Haven't been to Makeda in a long time. There is an Ethopian restaurant opening in Montclair soon.

[phaelon56]

Ethiopian food (please note that Eritrean food is essentially the same) is typically served in a sauce of sorts that resembles Indian sauces in texture and viscosity but rather than swimming in sauce, the food is more lightly coated with it (in many cases). There is a spice paste of sorts called berbere that's the backbone of Ethiopian cooking - it's used to flavor many of the dishes. They range from mildly spicy to very hot and a typical sampler will include chicken, lamb and possibly beef, all in small pieces or cubes that are braised or stewed with the spiced sauce.

Americanized Bebere recipe:

Ingredients

2 ts Cumin seeds

4 Cloves

3/4 ts Cardamom seeds

1/2 ts Black peppercorns

1/4 ts Whole allspice

1 ts Fenugreek seeds

1/2 ts Coriander seeds

8 Small dried red chiles

1/2 ts Grated fresh gingerroot

- 1 teaspoon dried

1/4 ts Tumeric

1 ts Salt

2 1/2 tb Sweet Hungarian paprika

1/8 ts Cinnamon

1/8 ts Ground cloves

Traditional Bebere can be searingly hot but it's toned down in most American Ethiopian restaurants. We had an Ethiopian houseguest for a month when I was in my teens. She would spread berbere on a piece of toast at breakfast and chow down - she proceeded to cook us a pot of beef stew and one tablespoon of it in an entire pot of stew made it surprisingly hot - native Ethipians can handle it really hot or so it seems.

Expect a few vegetable dishes that may include chickpeas and/or potato chunks. Utensils are not typically used. The individual portions are served on a spongy, fermented bread that is moist, soft, chewy and very distinct in flavor. It's called injera (the "j" is pronounced as an "h"). Some folks really don't care for injera but I like it. When I've eaten Ethopian in traditional seating, a small round table with low stools was used. All the entrees and or the sampler items for the entire table were served on a large round platter with one piece of injera under it. Additional injera bread in slightly smaller, round flat pieces came on the side. One breaks off pices of the injera and scoops up small bits of food to eat, using the injera to gather the food and get it into the mouth. teh bread is consumed along with each mouthful of food.

Sorry that I can't be more eloquent on a description but I'd say it's reminiscent of Indian food but with less "sameness> There's a bit more variation in flavor from one dish to the next. I especially like the Crispy Fish - it's served with the entire head and bone in in the same manner as Jamaican brown stewfish so be prepared for that if you order fish.

I do like Ethiopian food but just can't see how it could possibly be so much better as to justify the prices at Makeda. I do recognize that their overhead is probably high and it is a lovely place. I only suggest that you try Ethiopian food for lunch sometime before committing to an expensive dinner - it's not everybody's cup of tea. Most folks I know can find something they like on a Thai or Vietnamese menu btu not alwasy true with Ethiopian food.

Edited July 15, 2003 by phaelon56 (log)

[dbrociner]

Phaelon56, thanks. Great description and recipe. I'm going out on Sunday night with a woman who likes to be "adventurous" (her term). Any other suggestions in the New Brunswick area? I offered up the 7 Hills of Istanbul. The fact that there's live music on the weekend is a big turnoff for me at Makeda.

[Stone]

Great description Phaelon.

If you like spicy food, especially Indian curries, you'll probably enjoy Ethiopian. I actually find that Ethiopian "daal" and "takari" (lentils, and stewed greens) are a bit better than the analogous Indian dish. The injera is a little odd at first (reminds me of a strong sour dough), but it really grows on you. And plan on digging your whole hand into the plate.

The big risk with Ethiopian food (like many Asian restaurants) is the quality of the meats. I've had some where the cubes of beef or lamb were like rubber.

I had an Ethiopian friends growing up -- great food. (And they had a slave. Yes, really. He was very embarrassed (we were in high school) to explain that the "slave" was given to their family to pay off a debt.)

[Rosie]

There is a review of Makeda in the August issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine.

[Curlz]

I knew there had to be a thread on Makeda here! I thought I'd give it a bump, as I had dinner here last night with friends, and it was a really interesting (and good) food experience. I'll say up front that I had never had Ethiopian food before, and that they had all been here at least a few times, although not recently.

All of the food is eaten communally, and as mentioned before, is served with injera, which I somehow thought was more bread-like. Instead, it's a really spongy flat bread (think tortilla). Here is what the four of us ate (thank goodness for on line menus!)...I'm including the full descriptions for those who may not be familiar with Ethiopian food:

Appetizers

D'jaj Bi Zitoune - Marinated chicken tenderloins sauteed with green olives and lightly seasoned, with a selection of traditional spices.

Shrimp M'Charmel - Shrimp sauteed in olive oil infused with traditional Moroccan herbs and garnished with slice of carrot and parsley.

**My favorite dish of the night...I could definitely eat a plate of this for a meal!

For our first entree, we had the Vegetarian Sampler, which was our choice of 5 veggie dishes. We went with

Atakilt Wat - Fresh green beans, carrots potatoes, green peppers, cabbage and onions, sauteed with garlic, ginger and tomatoes.

Ful - Ethiopian beans cooked and flavored with tomatoes, onion, hot green peppers, and seasoned with special spices, served with a splash of olive oil, and Ethiopian salsa.

Kik Alicha - Yellow split peas cooked and flavored with green pepper, onion and Ethiopian herbs.

Mesir Wat - Lentils cooked with chopped onions, garlic, ginger, olive oil and mild berbere sauce.

Shiro Wat - Pureed split peas cooked with Ethiopian spices.

Kefta - Moroccan meatballs made from lean ground beef, a blend of traditional herbs and spices, onions and crushed peppers.

This is actually another app, but since I couldn't forget about it, we got an order with our entrees. They were delicious, and I have the leftovers for lunch.

Doro Tibs - Boneless pieces of chicken sauteed and seasoned with Ethiopian herb reduction sauce, awaze sauce, hot peppers and onions.

Shrimp Alecha - Shrimp cooked in a green pepper and Ethiopian herb reduction sauce seasoned with ginger, rosemary and a touch of jalapeno pepper. The large shrimp in this dish were a little tough, but the sauce over them made me forget that fact--fantastic dish that I would definitely recommend.

Since I seriously doubt that the cheesecake and pecan tarts represent authentic Ethiopian food, I drank my dessert , a glass of Nivole Moscato d'Asti, which was a perfect, light end to this very interesting meal and a great way to tone down the spices at the end of the night.

Note: the place is noisy, but the four of us didn't have a problem chatting at our square four-top until the band started (10pm). At that point, we were done, as we realized we were shouting at one another. Leaving through the gift shop, we were laughing at the bass reverberating throughout the building. Just not necessary, in my book, unless you're at a club.

I wish I could say that I could describe the spices used in this food...occasionally, I was tasting Indian, then a hint of Thai, then I'd realize that it is nothing like any other cuisine. Interesting is just the best word I can come up with. Interesting and TASTY. Well worth a visit if you're in the mood for something completely different, and/or are dining with vegetarians (we had one in our group)!

Dinner with a 20+% tip, was $40pp, which included a few glasses of wine (not mine, so I can't comment), and one dessert (mango sorbet). I thought it was very reasonable for all that we ate.

[Curlz]

Last night I took out the leftover kefta (meatballs) to reheat them, and voila! A new piece of injera had been packed in the container. Makeda scored another point in my book, and I thought I'd share, because it's the little things like this that make me appreciate a restaurant!

[phaelon56]

Thanks for the update Curlz. I don't recall ever trying Kefta and will make it a point to do so in the future.

If you should happen to Makeda or perhaps visit some other Ethiopian restaurant in the future be sure to find out if they offer the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony (typicallly done just for groups of four or more people). It's a wonderful traditon and the coffee is predictably excellent.

I'll also suggest, should they have this item on the menu, that you try Crispy Fish. Queen of Sheba on 9th Ave in NYC offers it and it's my favorite Ethiopian dish. It has a tantalizing mix of spices that's tough to identify, is served whole with head on, and has a beautifully crisp skin with moist flaky flesh underneath.

[Peter Conway]

I've been there a couple of times with Vegitarian friends. The place is great.