Ethiopian Food on the Tundra

After ragging about one restaurant, I'll rave about another.

Yirgalem on Monroe Street is one of the best places to eat in Madison. I've eaten there twice and would go back for lunch today if we weren't in the middle of a snowstorm. Tucked in the corner of a chichi new strip mall, it isn't obvious from the street, which prevents the need for reservations. The decor is gorgeous, with each wall painted in different warm tones of orange and purple and yellow. It's small (a capacity of maybe fifty) but has a steady stream of customers coming in. The music is pleasant and there are candles on the tables. The wine selection of perhaps twenty bottles each of red and white is suitable, and it is reasonably priced. I'm still fascinated by looking at a wine list and realizing that you just bought the same bottle at the corner store for about a quarter of what the restaurant wants to charge. Not at Yirgalem, where the markup looks to be only about double. This is a good deal in Madison, or anywhere.

Ethiopian meals are served on one giant platter, so everyone can dig into to everyone else's food. Also, there are no eating utensils. This adds up to make the dining experience very lively, a la Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. I'm not sure if you can get silverware if you ask, but if you do have objections to having your food mixed in with your companion's food, they are obliging and will serve it on a separate plate.

The service is fantastic, possibly the best service I have gotten in a Madison restaurant. When my husband I were seated on our first visit, the waiter was very patient with us. He told us how we would be dining, brought out a warm towel on which to clean our hands before we dug into the meal and gave each other germs, and generally made us feel very comfortable. He also made us say our orders instead of pointing. Some people may be put off by this, but I find it to be a sign of pride in the food he would shortly be serving. I ordered a cup of Ethiopian coffee after dinner. It was marvelous, seasoned with cloves and something else I couldn't place. The menu simply called it "spiced." When I asked the waiter what other ingredients were in the coffee, he told me about rue (which I had never heard of) and even brought me out a little bit in a ramekin to smell and taste and play with and throw at my husband.

On the second visit we again had outstanding service. The waitress, after taking our order and noting that mine was vegetarian, asked if I wanted my food on a separate plate so as not to mix with my husband's lamb. This is the kind of treatment that makes a server stand out and nab that twenty-five percent tip. Though I declined the separate plate, it was a very sweet touch.

As for the food itself, it's truly delicious. Each dish is served with injera bread - the REAL kind that isn't just a pita masquerading as a pancake. Injera is made with a nutty grain called nef, which I have heard is nearly impossible to get. Somehow, Yirgalem gets it and the injera is wonderful. You use the injera as your silverware, scooping up your food to eat it. The staff thoughtfully recommends you to use only one hand to eat, saving the other for your drinks so that your glasses don't become slimy with food. The first time I was there, I ordered the Yeshinbra Asa Wat, which is a stew that has little garbanzo bean flour dumplings in it. This is a traditional Ethiopian dish that is eaten over lent, and the name translates loosely to "lent fishes." It was fabulous, and served with a dark green salad and plenty of injera.

The second time we went, I wanted to try all of it so I ordered the vegetarian combination platter. This plate could have served six people alone, and each sampling (you can choose three of the five veggie options, and I went with the Misir Wat, Atkilt, and Fasolia) was outstanding, but simple. Often, with combo platters, the tastes are competing with one another and tend to overwhelm the tastebuds. Because the dishes were simply prepared, it was a harmonious meal.

The atmosphere is cozy and chic, the service is impeccable, and the food is sumptuous. The cost is surprisingly low, comparatively. The meals I have had in Madison that rival Yirgalem are top-dollar ones (like L'Etoile), and this meal is relatively inexpensive. Entrees are all around $15, wine about $25.

A fantastic dining experience. Bravo, Yirgalem!