Habesha Ethiopian

I am hardly an expert on Ethiopian food, but I do enjoy it. I've always felt Aster's was okay, Karibu was better (but now closed), and had heard of a place up north in Pflugerville (Taste of Ethiopia) that the local food bloggers are rather enthusiastic about, but I rarely get that far north. Then a friend suggested Habesha to me, and I had never heard of it. It's on the northbound feeder road of IH-35 at Hwy 290 on your right (6019 N IH-35), in a small strip center, and apparently they've been open a year. My friend really likes Ethiopian and had been once before and loved it.

We got there about 7 pm on a Saturday evening. The decor inside is lovely -- some separate seating areas for having tea or coffee, as well as a bar, and an outdoor patio. It didn't feel like an old Mexican restaurant which is how I have felt when I've been in Aster's. There was only one table of six filled in the entire restaurant, but as our dinner progressed, the place began to fill up, which is always nice to see.

We started with the Ethiopian tea; when I asked our server what was in it, she said it was cinnamon. However upon tasting it, I could tell the predominant flavor was cloves. Our waitress was very sweet, but I don't know if she was new or just helping out, because she wasn't real knowledgeable about the menu, but she was willing to go ask.

From the appetizer menu, we had the sambusas, which I'd say are similar to Indian samosas, in that they are a light dough stuffed with a filling (your choice of beef or lentil, and we had the latter), and fried until crisp. They were delicious! I have no idea what the sauce was, but it was tasty too.

I ordered the Beg Key Wot, or #3 on the lamb portion of the menu. I was immediately interested because of the berbere spices, which is kind of like curry powder or garam masala -- there's no exact recipe. Commonly found throughout the Horn of Africa as a dry spice blend or a paste, each family has their own unique spice blend, which primarily include chiles, ginger, and garlic. The chiles usually give a berbere dish a nice reddish brown color as evidenced here. My friend ordered the Gomen Besega, or beef with collard greens (#6). The dishes come in this wonderful basket (this one is probably close to 30" in diameter and pretty much takes up the whole table), "lined" with a piece of injera, or their version of flat bread. Injera is made from teff, an ancient grain (and naturally gluten-free for those who need it); it takes a couple days for the batter to ferment before it's made into crepe-like bread; it has a very spongy texture, which can be an acquired taste, but I like it! You typically use the injera in place of a fork to eat your meal with, and the waitress did come by with more injera for us.

I really liked the lamb. It was tender, and the sauce had a lot of flavor, and while it was chile-based, it didn't set your mouth on fire, though you knew you were tasting chiles. I wasn't as crazy about the beef dish, as the beef was rather tough and chewy, and the collards were bland; the menu says they're cooked with onions and garlic, but I didn't really taste them. The collards were nicely cooked though.

We decided to try dessert, and I was intrigued by the offerings of baklava, cheesecake and tiramisu on the menu. We asked the waitress if the baklava was made in-house, and she went back to check, and found out it was. And while it looks nice, to me it was very soggy; I like a baklava with some crispness to it, and this was syrup soaked all the way through. While writing this up, I got curious about what typical Ethiopian desserts are, and found out there really aren't any, so it's common to have these offerings on a menu.

The atmosphere alone is worth it at Habesha, as was the friendliness of the staff.  There's a variety of options on the menu, including an extensive vegetarian section. When my friend was there previously, she had the veggie combo plate, which was six or seven different dishes! And they offer some combo plates with the meat dishes as well. Until I make it up to Taste of Ethiopia, I can certainly say this is the best Ethiopian food I've had in town.

Copper

Austin Cake Ball has recently converted their shop at the Domain (by Macy's and Zara) into Copper, a full-service restaurant and dessert lounge, open for lunch and dinner with a great cocktail listing to boot! I was recently invited to stop by and try their new menu, so I took my North Austin friend, Epicuriosities along with me. 

I had not been in the place when it was operating as Austin Cake Ball so I am not entirely sure what the decor was like, but I loved the feel of Cooper. Even on an overcast day, the huge front windows bathed the shop in natural light, and also highlighted the impressive glass counters with loads of cake balls to choose from. White, light blue, and of course, copper give it a modern and sophisticated color scheme.

As you head towards the back of the space, there's a divider wall which was entirely done in pennies, as was the floor of the restroom and the entire back splash of the bar, giving the decor a nice sparkle when the light hit the shiny pennies.

We began our lunch with the aforementioned cocktails, Epicuriosities having the Candy Girl (cotton candy vodka and bubbly) and myself the Cosmo-naut (acai liqueur, vodka, cointreau, blood orange and cranberry juices), along with the fried goat cheese balls, which were presented beautifully with an orchid. Perfectly fried, and with a teeny bit of local honey to contrast the creamy goatiness, they were lovely, especially with the drinks. From their website: "Our kitchen combines farm-to-table produce, house-made breads and artisan meats with an emphasis on simple, clean flavors with seasonal ingredients." Always a bonus to be at a restaurant that espouses this philosophy!

When studying the menu, I wanted to be sure we didn't order both the crab cake AND pork belly sliders or the pork belly sliders and the pork belly flatbread, but I should have paid more attention to not getting so many items with white bread! {Perhaps some multigrain menu options would be warranted.} From the left, we went with the crab cake sliders, the pork belly and goat cheese flatbread at the top, and the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup. The crab cake had nice flavor, though it was on a denser bun than what I would call a brioche bun. The flatbread (okay, pizza) and a real nice pop of color from the arugula, though being a pork lover, I of course, would have loved to have had more pork belly present! The grilled cheese fingers were a fun, grown-up twist on the kid favorite, with smoked cheddar, havarti, muenster, and fontina cheeses in the sandwich, and the soup being tomato and roasted red pepper bisque.

We asked our server to pick a couple cake balls for us, and she brought us, from the left: red velvet, tiramisu, salted caramel, and German chocolate -- great choices! The German chocolate was my favorite, as it combines coconut with chocolatey goodness! They use Callebaut chocolate, a Belgian line that is a favorite among pastry chefs for good reason. Copper also offers other desserts like a heavenly sounding peanut butter pie or the hot mess brownie; with their liquor selection or even a cappuccino, it would be the perfect spot for dessert or a break from a day of shopping. And that, is what I am sure the owners of Austin Cake Ball were banking on with their transition to Copper.

There was only one person working the front of the house; Ryan said she had only been there about ten days, but she was the consummate professional -- friendly, present yet unobtrusive. Copper is open daily for lunch and dinner, with happy hour everyday from 4 - 7 pm, including all day on Sundays, all night Tuesdays and reverse happy hour on Saturdays after 9 pm. I think the hot mess brownie and a glass of port have my name on them when I return!

Ramen Tatsu-ya

If you've been paying attention to the food buzz in Austin lately, you know that ramen noodles are one of the hottest things out there. The Japanese restaurant Kome serves ramen at lunch time (see my post from January here; I did rather like their ramen!). There was a ramen trailer called Michi Ramen that opened in late spring/early summer, and ultimately closed to search for a brick and mortar home. (Their website announces they have secured a spot at 6519 N. Lamar Blvd., in the old Korea Garden spot, and that they were aiming for a November opening...so SOON, hopefully) Then Ramen Tatsu-ya opened in a strip mall in North Austin. And Paul Qui's new East Side King at Hole in the Wall on The Drag just opened, and is also serving ramen. (Hey! We could use some ramen in South Austin!)

Very quickly, that's become a lot of noodles!

Ramen Tatsu-ya did succeed in opening in September, on Research Blvd., at Peyton Gin, in the strip mall that houses Target, Sunflower Vietnamese, and Din Ho Chinese BBQ. They are only open for dinner, and immediately, they gained a following, with people were lining up outside, waiting for the doors to open at 5 pm. The owners are two Japanese guys who have both been in the restaurant business for a while. The stylized design on the wall in the picture below is the mon, or family crest of one of the owners.

The interior is small, only about 40 seats, with a modern feel. The light fixtures have ropes dangling from them -- to resemble noodles? We arrived about 4:45 pm, prepared to do our duty and stand in line. There were seven people in front of us, but the line quickly grew behind us. Just before 5 pm, they opened the doors for business. As we entered, one of the waitstaff asked how many were in our party, handed us an order number placard, and directed us to where we should sit after ordering at the counter.

There were four in our group, and four different types of noodle bowls, we we agreed to each get a different one (more on this coming up). I also wanted to try some of the other menu items, like the Katsu slider, which is lightly breaded and fried, and served on a Hawaiian roll with a little potato salad. After successfully cutting the slider in half with chopsticks (!), I thought it to be quite delicious! Relatively tender and flavorful. The potato salad wasn't particularly memorable.

The sweet and sour yodas, or Brussels sprouts, we all agreed were amazing! Roasted, and seasoned with apricot vinegar and some curry seasonings. I have become a fan of Brussels all around!

Ramen #1 -- Tonkotsu original, a creamy pork broth with pork belly, marinated egg, mushrooms, and green onions. I tasted it, and it was a fairly rich-tasting broth.

Ramen #2 -- Tonkotsu Sho-yu, like #1, but with the addition of soy sauce, bamboo, and roast seaweed.

Ramen #3 -- Mi-So Hot, a miso-based tonkotsu broth with ground pork belly, cabbage, corn, bean sprouts, and marinated egg; this also has the addition of chile, but can also be ordered without the extra spice. This was my bowl, and I did like it. It was not overly spicy for those of you concerned with spice levels. (A solid medium spicy? But every person is different!) The broth was creamy and velvety, with a certain sweetness to it, but upon further contemplation over the broth later that night (I took my leftovers home), the broth does not have a depth to it, and certainly lacking in a umami-character that I would really expect from a miso-based broth. Miso is something that is known to provide that umami quality, that savoriness, that extra layer of hard-to-describe-flavor that really can give a dish it's depth. This didn't have it. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty, and a nice large bowl of soup for $10, but it did not change my life.

Ramen #4 -- Tsukeman, or dipping ramen. A bowl of noodles, with pork belly, nori (roasted seaweed), and a nice side bowl of broth to dip into. I had a taste, and it seemed good; the person who ordered was quite happy. This is probably what I would order on a return trip, as it's a bit different.

Bathroom decor is quite colorful!

If you go to Ramen Tatsu-ya, be prepared to wait in line for a bit. I have talked to one friend who has been a few times, and has never had to wait more than 30 minutes, having gone at different times in the evening. It appears the staff runs a pretty tight ship, and are fairly quick to bus plates from the tables. Apparently they do not have to go containers (nor do they prepare to-go orders), but customers are welcome to bring their own, which is what I did. I don't think they have forks either, so if you are not comfortable using chopsticks, BYOF. The one thing I am confused about, if you look at Ramen #3, you'll see thin, red strands of something topping the bowl. I got no discernible flavor out of them (though they looked pretty on top); I asked one of the wait staff what they were, and was told saffron. There's no way this is saffron! One, I've never seen saffron threads that long (these were probably 3" long), and again, no real flavor, and saffron has a very distinct one. Must get to the bottom of this mystery!

So it will be interesting to see what kind of Ramen Battles will ensue once Michi Ramen opens. I've already seen various debates and opinions formed various food bloggers and foodies as to who has the preferred ramen between Tatsu-ya, Kome, and East Side King. Food and flavor is such a personal preference, I don't think there could ever be a clear cut winner. Go to Austin's first official ramen noodle house, and judge for yourself.