Corno d’Africa
Review by Jamie Bernstein
Attending dinner at Corno D’Africa was an extremely unique and culturally enhancing experience, as I was able to step outside of my comfort zone and explore an area and food type that I was not previously familiar with. Corno D’Africa literally means horn of Africa and has the intention of raising awareness, through the passion and commitment of the owners, to those who want to experience the unique and delicious culinary art of Ethiopian food. The restaurant is outside the city center, open during the week, has a highly attentive small staff – just the chef and her husband – and a seemingly adventurous clientele. Corno D’Africa specializes in African/Ethiopian dishes ranging from spicy beef/lamb dishes, to an authentic “awaze” sauce with butter and seasonings. After discussing specialties through the language barrier, I was brought the typical appetizer of Tabulle, Sambusá and Katagna. It was served without utensils iand was pleasantly fresh and refreshing. The Tabulle resembled the consistency of a cous-cous and was bursting with a vegetable flavor. The rolled bread portion of the appetizer was extremely moist and flavorful, hinting at a tomato flavor. Although straying from my comfort zone of typical Italian food was difficult for me, I ordered the classic beef dish, which contained freshly cooked beef seasoned with butter and awaze and cooked with tomatoes. Awaze is essentially a marinade made by combining berbere, oil, and water. It can also be categorized as an Ethiopian honey. It had a dark and pasty flavor that complimented the diced beef quite nicely. It was definitely unique and unlike anything I had tried before and contributed an almost smoky flavor to the meat. It was interesting to see that dishes were consumed using your hands rather than utensils, and served on a platter for the entire table, which contributed to the overall experience as well.
Our dessert dish was the chocolate cake with orange zest. I had never consumed chocolate that was intertwined with such a fruity flavor, but it was actually very stimulating for my taste buds. Though a bit spicy, the consistency of the cake was moist and smooth and the orange contributed a citrus flavor that complemented the very sweet chocolate quite well. My favorite part of the meal was speaking with the chef, who has lived in Italy for over 40 years, specializing in Ethiopian cuisine. She recommended all of the dishes that I was served and she was clearly very proud of her culture and heritage. Upon asking for a fork, she explained to me that this was not a part of the Ethiopian tradition and was hesitant to give me one. She also explained that Ethiopian food is presented on one large platter, rather than on small separate ones as we see in other countries. Learning about this culture and being exposed to such unique cuisine is certainly an experience I would recommend to others.
Corno d’Africa
Via S. Jacopino 12/A
Tel. 055-362116
Hours: Monday-Saturday 7:00pm-midnight. Closed Sundays