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Empress Taytu Ethiopian Restaurant

Location
6125 St. Claire Ave, Cleveland OH 44103
Phone:
Call for Reservations or Information

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About Our Food

              Ethiopian food and service is as unique as is the country itself.  The
traditions here are authentic, and all around you are the scenery, the music,
aromas, food, art, history and culture of this ancient civilization.

              Traditional basket tables (MESOBS) are in the huts, to fully

experience Ethiopian communal dining.  Knives and forks are absent as you
pick at the food with pieces of INJERA the T’EFF-GRAIN flat bread that will
hold the various spiced meat and vegetable presentations known as WATS.  
Foremost is DOROWAT chicken breast in onion-sweet, spicy barbecue-like
sauce which has no tomato.  Instead it has a sophisticated spice combination
known as BERBERE: hot red peppers, ginger, rue seed, sacred basil, cloves,
cinnamon, cardamom and bishop’s weed are among other spices individually
prepared and grounded together in the exotic blend.  A particular favorite is
T’IBS, small chunks of beef, lamb, chicken or shrimp sautéed in onion,
rosemary and spiced butter.  KITFO and GORED-GORED, other favorites
among Ethiopians, consist of raw beef mixed with BERBERE sauce.

              Vegetable dishes are also varied and exotically spiced, reflecting that
Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are vegetarians for up to 200 fasting days per
year.

              Combination platters have been structured to give a broad spectrum

of the variable food varieties.  Desserts are limited, as sweets are not part of
the culture.  Hence, ice cream is known as “Missionary’s Delight.”

              Tea (SHAI) and coffee (BUNA), however, are part of the culture.  The
spiced-tea water hardly needs tea leaves, and coffee is very special – coffee

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originated in an Ethiopian province known as KEFA.  The Ethiopian coffee

ceremony is a special event – an elegant, leisurely, after-dinner social
occasion with religious overtones and roots antedating Christianity itself.  The
ceremony is offered here as a gift of the ages from the land of 13 months of
sunshine, Ethiopia.

 We thank you.

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Menu

Appetizer, Soup and Salad

1.      SAMBUSA Crisp pastry triangles filled with
lentils or beef, spiced with onion, garlic, ginger
and coriander.  A) Lentil $3.50 B) Beef $4.00
2.      AMBASHA Traditional skillet baked bread
served with your choice of: A) Ayib (home
made cottage cheese flavored with Mitmita
and spiced butter $4.50; or B) Collard Greens
prepared with onion, garlic, ginger and spiced
butter $4.00
3.      SHORBA (Soup) Ethiopian Lentil-Onion soup,
a flavorful treat. A) Cup $3.00 or B) Bowl $4.00
4.      FOULE Hearty chili-like broad beans, smashed
and spiced, then garnished with fresh diced
tomatoes, green peppers and onions.  Served
hot with a dollop of yogurt and fresh
AMBASHA bread.  A delicious meal in itself,
with choice of olive oil or butter.  Mild, with hot
Mitmita powder available upon request.  $8.00
5.      HOUSE SALAD Spring mix garden salad with
a colorful variety of crisp, fresh vegetables. 
Served with the house vinaigrette dressing.
$6.00
6.      TOMATO SALAD Fresh red tomatoes mixed
with chopped onions and jalapenos.   Served
with the house vinaigrette dressing. $5.50
7.      YETESENEGA KARYA Seasonal hot pepper
split and stuffed with jalapenos, tomatoes,
onions and KOTCHKOTCHA (hot pepper and
spice sauce).  Pepper with peppers and
peppers! $2.25 a piece.
 

Combination Dinners 
8.      VEGETABLE COMBINATION A combination
of four vegetable dishes; KIK ALICHA, MISIR,

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GOMEN and TIKIL GOMEN. $11.00 per person

9.      MEAT COMBINATION a combination of four
meat stews: DOROWAT, SEGAWAT,
MINCHETABISH AND YEBUG-ALICHA.
$13.50 per person
10. MEAT AND VEGETABLE COMBINATION A
combination of four (4) meat dishes:
DOROWAT, SEGAWAT, MINCHETABISH
and YEBUG-ALICHA, and three (3) vegetable
dishes: KIK-ALICHA, MISIR and TIKIL
GOMEN. $15.00 per person
 

Vegetarian Dishes 
11. MISIR Split red lentils cooked in berbere sauce
and fine herbs then blended with finely
chopped onions. Medium. $9.00
12. TIKIL GOMEN Lightly spiced vegetable stew of
cabbage, carrots and potatoes. Mild. $8.50
13. SHIRO Mixed legumes prepared with ginger
root, rue seed, bishops weed and garlic before
being cooked with berbere sauce. Medium.
$11.00
14. KIK-ALICHA Yellow split peas flavored with
turmeric, green peppers and various spices.
Mild. $8.50
15. GOMEN Chopped collard greens cooked with
onions, garlic and ginger then lightly laced with
jalapenos. Mild. $9.00
 

Beef, Chicken, Lamb and Shrimp

Dishes 
16. MINCHETABISH Savory chopped top ground
beef cooked with a tasty combination of
seasonings and spices. Mild. $10.00
17. SEGAWAT Tender beef cubes stewed with
Berbere sauce then flavored with onions,
garlic and ginger root. Spicy. $13.50
18. FER-FER Pieces of INJERA (traditional
Ethiopian bread) soaked in SEGAWAT.
Medium. $8.50
19. YEBUG-ALICHA Tender lamb pieces cooked
in spiced butter, onions, green peppers, garlic,
ginger root and turmeric. Mild. $14.00
20. TIBS Lean beef cubes sautéed in spiced butter
with green peppers, onions and rosemary.
Specify Hot to Mild. $14.50
21. DOROWAT (House Specialty) Premier

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Ethiopian ceremonial dish.  A piece of chicken

(doro) breast and drumstick marinated in
lemon, sautéed in spiced butter, stewed in
Berbere sauce with onions, garlic and ginger
root, served with a hardboiled egg with home
made cottage cheese and  GOMEN (collard
greens). Spicy. $15.50
22. CHICKEN TIBS Cubes of chicken breast
sautéed in spiced butter with green peppers,
onions and rosemary. Specify Hot to Mild.
$14.50
23. SHRIMP TIBS Shrimp sautéed in spiced butter
with green peppers, onions and rosemary.
Specify Hot to Mild. $15.50
 

House Specialty Dishes 

24. KITFO an Ethiopian favorite, diced fresh lean
beef spiced with AWAZE (hot) sauce, jalapeno
peppers and served with home made cottage
cheese. NOTE: SERVED RAW OR SLIGHTLY
COOKED (leb-leb) Specify Hot to Mild. $15.00
25. GORED-GORED Cubes of fresh lean beef
spiced with AWAZE (hot) sauce, jalapeno
peppers and served with home made cottage
cheese. NOTE: SERVED RAW OR SLIGHTLY
COOKED (leb-leb) Specify Hot to Mild. $15.00
26. TAYTU’S SPECIAL SEGA TIBS Choice cubes
of fresh lean beef fried with spiced butter,
onions and rosemary then served still cooking
in a traditional clay charcoal grill with TOMATO
SALAD and YETESENEGA KARYA. Specify
Hot to Mild. $22.00 Double order add $15.00
27. TAYTU’S SPECIAL YEBUG TIBS Choice
cubes of fresh lamb fried with spiced butter,
onions and rosemary then served still cooking
in a traditional clay charcoal grill with TOMATO
SALAD and YETESENEGA KARYA. Specify
Hot to Mild. $22.00 Double order add $15.00
28. MISSIONARY’S DELIGHT Vanilla ice cream
served plain or with choice of chocolate sauce
or mango juice. $4.00
29. ETHIOPIAN BUNA (COFFEE) CEREMONY a
special after dinner treat.  This leisurely
ceremony starts with the roasting of green
coffee beans in the kitchen.  The smoking pan
of aromatic beans is brought to your table. 
The coffee is served from a JABENA (clay
coffee pot), poured into small traditional cups
with fresh AMBASHA and incense burning.
$16.00

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Hours
Sunday-Monday :Closed
Tuesday-Thursday : 5:00 to 9:00 kitchen closes
Friday-Saturday : 5:00 to 10:00 kitchen closes

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About Us
Proprietors: Carl and Senait Robson
Chef: Senait Robson
Bartender: Cameron Selan (always available)
EmpressTaytu@aol.com  Please, no email reservations

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Links
 USA Ethiopian restaurants
www.nilefalls.com/usa.html

 History & Culture of Ethiopia

www.countryreports.org/history/ethiophist.htm
www.ethiopic.com/Ethiopia.htm
www.ethiopiaonweb.com/ethiopia/index.html
www.africanet.com/africanet/country/ethiopia/history.htm

 Ethiopian Directories
directory.google.com/Top/Home/Cooking/World_Cuisines/African/Ethiopian/
chef2chef.com/dir/Cooking/World_Cuisines/African/Ethiopian/index.html

 Ethiopian Recipes
www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Cookbook/Ethiopia.html
www.elca.org/dgm/country_packet/ethiopia/recipes.html
expedition.bensenville.lib.il.us/Africa/Ethiopia/recipes.htm

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Copyright © 1993-2003, Carl Robson, Prop.

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web page by Shawn Mason

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