There is a neighborhood near the corner of Fulton and Diamond that is bustling with unique shops, art galleries and locally owned restaurants. You’ll find Rinaldi’s Pizza, Palace of India, and our stop for this week, Little Africa. But if you blink, you just might miss it.
Before we began our search for Grand Rapids’ best locally owned restaurant we had never heard of Little Africa, but after a handful of people suggested it, we figured we’d better try it out. And, since we had never eaten Ethiopian food before, it sounded like the ideal adventure. We did a little research on Ethiopian food before going, and we convinced two Little Africa veterans to join us.
Right when you walk in the door the smells jump out at you and its obvious this is a very authentic restaurant. The owner, Loul, suggested we try the sampler platter, which included a bit of everything. If you’ve never eaten Ethiopian food before, there are a few things you should know. First, there are no utensils – everything is eaten with your hands. This is coming from someone who avoids eating with her hands whenever possible. I even use a fork and knife to eat chicken wings. Needless to say, I was a little scared of this concept in the beginning. Second, you’ll notice the platter is covered with a large sourdough flatbread, which is called injera. You use the bread to scoop up the various food items.
Our platter contained nine different items. Noted favorites among our group were the Alicha, which is potato, cabbage, green beans, green pepper, ginger, and garlic (it is the item closest to the bottom of the photo), and the Red Lentil. Little Africa is an entirely vegetarian restaurant so other items on the platter were made from soy, peas, tomato, etc.
I could taste several flavors which I had never experienced before, making this a very unforgettable dining experience. We had a party of 6 this week and every one of us commented on how authentic the restaurant was.
I should note that the sampler platter was huge, it filled us up and there was still some food left over when we were done.
On this particular night there was only one employee working and he just happened to be the owner. He was kind enough to chat with us for a bit and he had an interesting story to tell. Loul Negash, originally from Ethiopia, came to Michigan 15 years ago. He attended Grand Valley State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology & management. He opened a shop specializing in imported African artifacts, but after a few years he switched gears and opened Little Africa. An interesting fact about his business is that he doesn’t advertise at all. Even he suggested that his signage was small and easy to miss. All his business comes from word of mouth, and it seems to be working well for him. The restaurant is small, but it was pretty busy for a Tuesday. If you’re looking for a new taste, next month he’ll be buying locally grown pumpkins, creating an entirely new flare in some of the dishes.
In closing, I think one member of our party summed up our experience well. “The world needs more Little Africas to remind us that not all food is delivered in styrofoam containers, served directly from a deep fryer. I love this place.”
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got no shame in downing a platter of onion rings, chicken wings and mozzarella sticks, but I definitely see his point. I never thought I’d eat Ethiopian food. Its so far from my comfortable steak and potato dinner, but I’m really glad I tried it. It feels great to get out of my comfort zone. Oh, and eating with my hands wasn’t so bad either.