Aurora Cafe is a good place to understand the differences between Eritean and Ethiopian food. It’s a tiny spot open only until 5pm every day. On a Sunday mid-afternoon, we were lucky to snag a table. The place was hopping. In addition to the expected decor, there is a 1954 poster about a Picasso exhibit in Paris:
Foul, this is an essential Eritrean dish, served with crusty French bread. In this case the bread was served very warm and very delicious. The foul is topped with chopped tomato, red onion, green pepper, yogurt, and crumbled farmers cheese.
Fata, this is yet more French bread, this time soaked in a red sauce that was not spicy, served room temperature. This got better as we ate it.
Qlwa lamb, this is served piping hot on injera. The sauce is plain and if you want it hot they have their own awaze paste you can add to the dish. Served with copious chunks of jalapeno on the side as well as red onion, lettuce, and tomato.
When I go back, I’ll go for eggs silsi, the qlwa with beef and spinach, and maybe some French toast. It’s a ‘breakfast served anytime’ kind of place.
Although they advise you to mix up the foul with its toppings, I much more like having something different in every bite. Also, that way the flavor of the foul itself does not get diluted. It was awesome.
This was so lovely. Gentle, hearty flavor throughout. Yogurt served on the side makes this luxurious. A trifecta meal along with the foul and beef qilwa with spinach.
This time, the qlwa was served over a black teff, but no salad. In principle, the black teff is made by using red teff with a longer fermentation, though this version was completely mild tasting:
