 Ethiopian Diamond Chicago's Ethiopian Diamond is the city's best Ethiopian place, and one of the best Ethiopian places I've yet encountered … certainly better than Ethiopia itself. This was where I had my first experience with Ethiopian food and, for that matter, my first taste of Ethiopian culture outside of some FANTASTIC jokes around the time of Live Aid. I was impressed by the lack of bloated children with flies on their arms, which would probably have been the wrong type of theme to go with in terms of décor. Rather, the place is very laid-back, with a really casual atmosphere that promotes long meals with deep conversation, the shared meal only augmenting the dining experience. The Ethiopian meal consists of each person's order being served on the same plate. You literally break bread and share each meal together – it's truly the best approach to eating I've ever come across, very satisfying physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Yes, I know that Hardee's can provide the same feelings of wholeness, but I have found Ethiopian dining to offer even more. I eat at the Diamond regularly, usually in groups of four or more, especially when most of the people have never eaten Ethiopian food before. I like to watch as their initial deep mistrust turns to all-over satisfaction. No one I've brought here has found it to be less than an outstanding place, and many have even subsequently professed that their hatred of Blacks has decreased somewhat. The first time I went, afterwards I was thinking about the meal for days, and finally had to return about four days later. It's that good. The service is uneven from visit to visit, and the atmosphere (especially in the back-room smoking section) can be a bit chintzy, but still I would recommend it wholeheartedly. Parking is a bit traumatic, but the place is rarely so busy that you can't eb seated quickly and served relatively quickly. The meal is amazing – generally I'll start out sharing some sambusas (basically hot-pocket-type pastry aggregations) as an appetizer, then a meal consisting of kik alitcha (a cream-of-corny-type stew), dinich watt (potato cubes in garlic sauce), and various other veg-friendly things. Meat consumers will find many good choices as well, but the veg. diet is really best suited here. The cuisine is basically various stew-like things which you consume with a porous, pancake-like bread called injera, no silverware to be found. It's very efficient. Also excellent is the honey wine, which is just delicious, though not offering much in the way of a buzz. Ah well, I always carry a hip-flask of 17th-Century cognac anyway. The desserts are great too, if you have any room left after the meal. I have found that an elaborate system of gorging and purging allows for a lot more food to be consumed than you'd think. (Audience boos loudly except for a few chuckling frat boys, who are summarily hazed to death.)
Prices are reasonable, and this is really one place where I never mind when the bill comes because the preceding meal has been so satisfying. The service is pretty damn slow, but incredibly hospitable. I swear, the only other Diamond I find so thoroughly entertaining is Dustin. Wait, I should have said Neil, I guess.
Review by Wyatt D. Crouch, August 1999 |
