Zagwe's Restaurant offers Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine

Spongy injera, potatoes and carrots drenched in spices all wrapped in a stew-sauce of braised meats. Eating Ethiopian cuisine is an experience for the senses, its decadent taste in (literal) hand as you use the injera to soak up the sauce and enjoy the food.

You can now experience this delight at Zagwe's Restaurant, an Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurant in Eugene. It is run by Paolos and Eden Kidanemariam, the same couple who brought the Ethiopian food cart, Makeda's Cuisine, to the city almost three years ago.

The restaurant officially opened at the beginning of August in a building on Blair Boulevard. It's an interesting spot as it has just a small dining room but ample space outside, including a patio and small stage. The location has a long history of turnover, including One Cup, Vanilla Jill's, Shield Bistro and then Whitburger before becoming Zagwe's. Fortuitously, the Kidanemariam's restaurant fits right into the Whitaker neighborhood and the array of diverse restaurants surrounding it.

"This was our dream — from nothing to this," Eden said, gesturing to the restaurant behind her. "Having a restaurant, even this small, it may seem like a small thing, but for us this is a huge event."

Community-guided leap of faith

The journey from food cart to restaurant has been one of resilience, patience and community support, Eden said. Just to open the food truck took five years on its own, while trying to get the restaurant space took six months of negotiations.

Ironically, opening a brick and mortar space wasn't even on their mind until a customer asked if they had an official restaurant. The customer was appalled the Kidanemariams only had the cart and recommended a restaurant space. The couple looked into it, propelling them into securing what is now Zagwe's Restaurant.

At the restaurant, it seemed most customers coming in knew Eden or Paolos, the couple greeting folks by name. With each exchange, folks congratulated the couple before ordering and getting seated.

The Kidanemariams said they feel this is their American dream realized, and are grateful to the customers, friends and family who have remained alongside them on their journey.

Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine

Ethiopia and Eritrea are neighboring countries and as a result share many similar culinary characteristics. Paolos said the cuisine is primarily described as having bold flavors and spice.

The primary seasoning used is berbere, a seasoning mix comprised of turmeric, cumin, cardamom and sea salt. The seasoning can also have other spices like fenugreek, chili pepper, coriander, garlic and more. The spice is a rich flavor and used in many of the dishes, adding greater depth of flavor.

Rather than pita bread, Ethiopians eat injera, which is a spongy, fermented flatbread made of teff flour. It is made in-house and is also gluten-free.

Ethiopian food is typically eaten with your hands and is encouraged in the restaurant, but feel free to request utensils if you want them, Paolos said.

If you're familiar with the menu from Makeda's Cuisine, which remains open, you'll find that and more dishes at Zagwe's.

All of the food is served over injera on a large metal platter. Compared to Makeda's, where all the food had to be packaged separately, it's all laid out.

If you don't want to just have one of the entrees, you can get a combination platter of either vegetarian or beef and vegetarian. All of these combinations come with a side salad.

Some new dishes include medium rare tri-tip steak cooked in clarified butter with Ethiopian spices, and lamb tibs. There are also mushroom tibs, made with portobello mushrooms for vegetarians.

Some standouts are drinks like tej (Ethiopian honey wine), beer and cocktails.

Eden makes the tej in-house, and it's similar to standard American meads. It is not as sweet, but still a light, enjoyable beverage.

The Ethiopian beers are lagers and light, as the beer culture is influenced more by European beers than American, Paolos said.

Ethiopian cocktails are inspired by the cuisine's flavors, and not actually from the cocktail culture of Ethiopia, Paolos said.

A name upholding heritage

The restaurant's name is a tribute to Paolos' father and an ode to the couple's heritage. The two are second generation Ethiopians, whose love of cooking was influenced by their mothers teaching them to cook.

Paolos said the restaurant name is in reference to the Zagwe dynasty, a medieval dynasty that ruled over modern-day northern Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is an era that is well known for the construction of rock-hewn monolithic churches of Lalibela under King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela. He said his father had always claimed to be a direct descendent but Paolos and his siblings didn't really believe him. It wasn't until his father's passing that Paolos and his family discovered documents tracing the family's lineage. They claimed his father was actually correct.

Paolos felt honoring his father through the restaurant's name was apt.

The couple are eventually planning to have themed music nights, like reggae and various genres of African music, plus performers. In time, they want to be a restaurant offering a full roster of performers, activity nights and more like many of the other spots around the neighborhood.

"We welcome everyone, not just Ethiopian and Black folks, but from all walks of life, culture and gender," Eden said.

If you want to feel the love and community that Eugene is commonly praised for having, you'll find and feel that at Zagwe's Restaurant.

More info: zagwerestaurant.wordpress.com and Facebook page.

Hours: 4 - 9 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; Noon - 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Address: 298 Blair Blvd., Eugene

Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her at echan@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Zagwe's Restaurant offers Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine in Eugene