3 1/2 out of 5 stars
4901 Linebaugh Avenue, Tampa. Appetizers: $2-$8; entrees $9.50-$16; dessert $4.25; No alcohol.
813-415-2183, ethiomitmita.com.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of exploring Ethiopian cuisine, Mitmita is going to be a welcome surprise. I’ll never forget my first time. It was in the middle of northwest D.C’s Adams Morgan neighborhood—a colorful place where world cultures collide.
On the vivacious 18th Street main drag, I climbed the stairs to the late, great Meskerem, which for three decades ruled as a beacon for this delightful gastronomic culture. Everything was so exotic and distinctly non-European. Colorful embroidered pillows replaced chairs and we sat cross-legged awaiting the cavalcade of flavors that were soon to amaze. I learned that not only was there no silverware, but the whole meal had a welcoming communal atmosphere.
You see, you eat your food, not with knives, forks, and spoons, but with injera, a large floppy grey-brown sourdough fermented crepe made from teff, a tiny, round practically gluten-free grass that flourishes in the Ethiopian highlands. A short period of fermentation makes a starter that gives it an airy texture and distinct, welcome tang on the palate. It’s thicker than a French crepe but thinner than an IHOP pancake.
Platters use large, round injera as a base on which to serve flavorful meat and vegetable stews. The room temperature flatbread is very spongy and easy to break off to scoop up the different dishes for you to taste, and even to feed your fellow diners. Talk about an icebreaker. This is freestyle dining — simply tear off a piece of injera, grab some food as best you can, and pop the whole thing into your own, or an adjacent mouth.
As my squad drives down Linebaugh looking for the Mitmita storefront, I wonder aloud just how much we’ll be immersed into the experience from my past. When we arrive, though there’s plenty of decor to remind you of the East African culinary scene, there are also tables and chairs. But no silverware.
We begin by sampling the house-made lemonade, which has a distinct orange hue and a pleasant citrusy bite that reminds me of passion fruit. There’s no alcohol on the menu, so this is a good choice to prime your salivary glands for the treats to come.
We follow up with an array of flavorful vegetarian starters that showcase Chef Tar Mehari’s tribute to his homeland. Yemiser Azefa is a unique salad of green lentil, onion and jalapeño pepper blended in Mitmita house dressing that pops with vinegar. Ethiopian chopped potato salad also contains bits of onion and jalapeño but is well-balanced so one ingredient doesn’t overwhelm the other.
Bright yellow simmered split peas known as Kik Alicha combine with onion, plus a mild hit of herbs and spices. Dinich Wot is simply potato stewed with onion, garlic, some turmeric, and the chef’s secret touches.
There’s also a scoop of stewed red lentils, and while that means that there’s a textural similarity to this group of dishes, there’s enough differentiation in the spice combos to keep it interesting.
Our entree platter sides are two contrasting veggie dishes. Gomen Wat chops collard green and bits of potato simmered with onion and herbs, which contrasts nicely with the deep pink of chopped beets, plus potato and carrots in a dressing that calls upon more jalapeño and onion with a backbone of ginger and garlic.
Berbere, a hot pepper seasoning essential for many Ethiopian dishes, has been tamed here for western palates. But there are hints of garlic, red pepper, cardamom, coriander, chiles, cloves, allspice, and various other spices. It’s a cousin to Southwestern chili or Indian curry with an allure all its own. Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson describes berbere as “both masculine and feminine, shouting for attention and whispering at me to come closer. In one sniff it was bright and crisp; in the next, earthy and slow.”
Simply put, a wat (or wot) is a stew. It begins its life as red onions cooked down with the aforementioned berbere infused with ginger, garlic and other spices. For our entrees, which are spooned out of bowls from the kitchen onto our waiting injera platter, we choose Ye-Doro Watt, two tender marinated chicken legs sautéed in niter kibbeh (clarified butter) and stewed in the complex red berbere sauce served in traditional Ethiopian style with a hard-boiled egg that’s sure to make you a convert.
Two other proteins are labeled “tibs,” sort of a stir fry-stew hybrid: prime, tender cubes of lamb sautéed with julienned white onion and a flaky white fish fillet marinated in rosemary and seared to perfection in Mitmita’s special sauce. The chef keeps the jalapeños in check so that they whisper of heat and don’t overwhelm lest they throw a dish out of balance. And, of course, the ubiquitous injera soaks up all the wonderful juices as the meal progresses.
The lone dessert is a “flan” that’s more reminiscent of a flat wedge of inch-high cheesecake. It’s a tasty, but dense, hybrid without any burnt caramel sauce. It’s our lone foray into the world of the fork and we dispatch it quite quickly, all the while muttering about its culinary origins. And the intense black Ethiopian coffee manages full flavor without acidic bite.
One of the great joys in this life is exposure to other cultures and cuisines. Mitmita will transport you thousands of miles on a gastronomic journey that should be part of your culinary lexicon. Even though there are no pillows, let injera be your guide. Think of all the fun that can be had, especially for a young family or for your latest flame from an online dating quest. I mean, who can resist being given permission to eat with their hands. Oh, the endless possibilities…
CL Food Critic Jon Palmer Claridge dines anonymously when reviewing. Check out the explanation of his rating system, or email him at food@creativeloafing.com.
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This article appears in May 23-30, 2019.