New Ethiopian Restaurant in Austin

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After the World Beat Cafe sadly had to close, there was a void in African Cuisine.

Not any longer. Aster's Ethiopian Restaurant is now open and very close to campus. Parking is not an issue either as it was at the WBC.

It is located on S IH-35 Frontage just south of the Rodeway Inn, literally right before you take the exit to 26th/Dean Keaton to campus. It is where Arrendina's Enchiladas used to be.

I got take-out and am about to eat the food so I can give a review on it in a bit. But the decor is nice, plenty of seating but small'ish. There is indoor and outdoor seating.

I am very happy. I will be more so if the food is half as good as it smells. More to come.
 
They had a booth at the Fine Arts Festival a couple of weeks ago. I had a good sample of their fare...it was good. And I'll be back.

I hadn't had Ethiopian since I dined at some place in Adams-Morgan when visiting a friend in D.C. Glad there's an Austin option.
 
Traffic, if the place in D.C. was on the east side of 18th Street (south of Columbia) it was Zed's. If it was on the west side, had an upstairs with the floor seating and downstairs with tables, it was Meskerem. Both outstanding.

Verdict: Delicious and amply spicy! My sinuses are clearing, bigtime. A hearty warmth and savory flavors. Huge serving.

I am very happy and recommend this to all.
 
Perhaps he was that way with others, hence, his place is now occupied by another continent! Go check it out Rama.
 
i am sad to see arrendando's go, they had great cheese enchiladas that i would drive across town for.

however, i am happy to see something as different as an ethiopan restaraunt go up in its place. i am definitely going to try it this week at lunch. i have never eaten ethiopian food, which is part of why i am going to try it, but i have no idea what to order. i guess i'll just ask the waiter or manager what their favorite dishes are and go with that.
 
Here is a primer for you Gak.

In general the food is spicy but in a good way, almost like Indian food. Very earthy feel to it. They stew a lot of things due to the hearty nature of the peoples over time.

The bread, called Injera, is a spongy bread that is very absorbent and pretty thin compared to sandwich bread. It is used as both a plate of sorts and as a utensil. You eat with your hands if you like and I suggest it.

The portions of food are put on the injera laid out on a plate or hard surface. The bread absorbs the juices. You take a piece of the injera you have and grab the bite or bites of food you want.

At the end, you eat the injera that soaked up the juice. Very little waste if any at all. Makes sense.

I was in the mood for the chicken dish and chose to get a double order of the potatoes for my sides. I would suggest the potatoes and lentils if you like lentils.

But all of the sides are good.

Hope this helps some and if you go with somebody else for lunch, make sure you get different items so as to broaden your learning experience.
 
i tried it for lunch today with a friend. walked in at 12:30 and there were only two people there, so i was a little leery. but they were speaking ethiopian (i presume) with the owner so i took that as a good sign.

we got the chicken in the spicy red sauce and the mild beef stew dish and split them. each came with lentils and collard greens.

it was all very very good. the lentils were particularly outstanding. very good service, and i will go back for dinner soon. my only knock was that i thought one kind of small drumstick for a chicken entree was a bit on the small side (and i am not a huge eater especially at lunch).

overall, a solid A-. i hope it succeeds. thanks for the reccomendation.
 
I drove by it yesterday and said "Ethiopian food???? What do they serve? Dirt? Sticks?" I thought my...um...whatever she is.... was going to punch me in the face. I'm a bad person.
 
I, too, first experienced Ethiopian food in Adams-Morgan (pretty sure it was Meskerem). I seem to recall that DC has the largest population of Ethiopans outside of its borders though, so maybe that shouldn't be as surprising as it seems.

I thought it was pretty good, though I had nothing to compare it to. A less gastronomically adventuresome colleague of mine, however, described it as "pretty good, if you like scooping up cat **** with a piece of foam rubber."
 
I hope your friend does not breed.
wink.gif
 
Clever, World Beat was Nigerian and Ethiopian food. This one is just Ehtiopian. I am good friends with the owner of the WBC so if you are pressed for it I can prob. get you the recipe.

He is going to teach me how to make the Egusi Soup and FuFu one day when we have time.
 
yeah, I knew it was both west & ethopian. So while I'm glad that Aster's is around, I still want me some nigerian food. What is up with the owner, does he have a plan to get back in the business? Egusi soup & yam fu fu, that was the meal. Love me that combo. Aster's may have better lentis & injera, but it was all about the equsi soup.
 
I think that she made the food for him to sell at his place so it was the same. But it is probably a bit fresher at her place as the middleman is cut out or time from being made to plate.

He wanted to but got hosed on a deal to open just east of downtown. The rent was outrageous where he was and the building is a piece of crap with little help from the owners of it. They just don't care yet they gouge. Their perogative.

I have been meaning to ask him as we talk often enough but we end up talking about other things. We joke that we are identical twins but one of us got to go outside the other stayed inside. I was the inside child!
 
so are you saying that Aster also made the nigerian yam fu fu and such? Would that eventually make an appearance on her menu?

One thing I liked about World Beat was that my less adventerous friends could get a burger.
 
No. All Nigerian food was made by him in the restaurant.

The veggie burgers at World Beat were fantastic as well. I preferred them to the regular burgers. He had a cult like following by the veggies and vegans. If I had the money up and not wrapped up in my house and investments I would give it to him so he could reopen soon. Even if I did not get it back, I would. I hope he does.
 
I have to disagree with ya about traffic at the new location. We've hit Aster's around 8pm a couple of times and had to drive around a loooooong time to find a parking space. But it's always worth the wait. Service is a bit slow but very friendly. The food is everything it ought to be. First class all the way.
 
i used to live right behind Arrendina's. Sad to see it go. Ate many a breakfast taco from there. And I also always enjoyed the cheese enchiladas, even though the wait could be a pain in the *** at times.

i do need to give this place a try though. i have eaten ethiopian food once in san fransico, and really enjoyed it. maybe i can talk phl h into going with me next time i am in town
 
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