Don’t get me wrong I like Kitfo, especially good Kitfo. But this has to be the second most ordered food at Ethiopian Restaurants when Ethiopians attend.
Here in DC, Dama Restaurant by public consensus has the best Kitfo; possibly in the whole US of A.
Kitfo is good but I am tired of ordering it, every time I go to Ethiopian Restaurants.
It also gets somewhat awkward when you are about to order, one of the guys likes his cooked, others like it TireA, and others Leb Leb.
I think cooked Kitfo is great, but there are times I like it completely TireA.
The Kitfo Compatibility Test
I went to have a 4 pm meal with a friend and his girl friend. Two entrée’s, one is Kitfo but the dilemma was how to have it prepared. The waitress anxiously waiting; I like usual tried to make it easy on every one… whatever you guys choose.
When in fact I should have been a bit more assertive and ordered Leb Leb. She wanted it cooked, he wanted it raw. A minute passed, the waitress said I will give you a few minutes.
Finally I decided to meddle in and say ‘in between it is!’
What would they have done, without me? Does she win or does he?
Later, I decided to ask them who usually wins. She said he and he said she. They couldn’t even decide on that. They should break up right away! Of course I didn’t say that but I made a crude joke to lighten the moment before they started punching each other.
I like my Kifto raw like Qinter!
Published by January 23rd, 2009 in African, Food and Social.
“I like my Kifto raw like Qinter!”
lol… what a joke! me too
“I like my Kifto raw like Qinter!”
Ante crazy neger…that is weird.
I think kitfo is too minor to make a r/n ship decision.
i know i know – this post is about kitfo not about relationships…
so tell me how u like your kitfo
I loved it tire ..gin , I don’t eat anything raw any more so I eat leb leb. BTW, my mom makes the best Kitfo in the whole world.
I doubt your moms kitfo…
i like it cooked bedabo sometimes… except not a lot of people in dc like it cooked… so i usually go leb leb
spacefrog, i beg to disagree … MY mom’s is the best!!!!
oops meant to say ‘spacefog’
I work in a habesha restaurant and its pretty amazing how the non-ethiopians get into raw Kitfo once they try it.
So I ususlly encourage my customers to take it raw and if they decide that its inedible, I promise them that I will go back and get it cooked. Usually that settles the dilemma and they end up loving eat raw (mostly).
My colleague, whom I suspect to have some habesha gene hidden somewhere in his DNA loves raw kitfo with mitmitha so much….he swears by it. And yet he is blue eyed and blond fernji.
And the weirdest raw kitfo lover is a small girl I suspect she is 7 or 8 years old and she eats her kitfo raw. Her parents bring her to our restaurent once in 3 weeks or so and she gets her fix. They order a full raw kitfo for her with little mimita. And even if she doesnt finish it, she eats it well. The first time I served her, I was so convinced that they did not know what they were ordering that I asked them like 5 times….”excuse me sir…Did you say Raw kitfo for her?” …. a smile and “yes. please.” and I would be like ” you know the meat is not cooked”…the dad with a smile again” Yes. Raw please”… and it went on like that for a few times and then I was like okay.. they want to kill the child… but I guess she learned the few wonders of the world pretty early…and as Nolawi mentioned I wonder what else she likes raw!
And Nolawi, about the relationship explanation…. if you have read the book “Blink” it talks about this kind of ‘thin slicing’. Thin Slicing is a way Psychologists predict the likelihood of a relationship working out or not… but its still very controversial.
My next door mamo and mamito have been fighting like cats and dogs(sometimes physically) for more than 2 years…and yet they r still together…enough said!
aha wude.. thank u for sharing betam.
also I will stop thin slicing…
for more information about the ‘Guraghe Kitfo’ go to:
http://addisconnexion.com/index.php/Dining/Kitfo_Face_Off.html
oh yeah… My fav Kitfo bet in Addis “Yohannes Kitfo” Woww…
ufaaa yall! asgomeZHachihugn!
from my experience waliya in silverspring and dama have some good kitfo …what’re the best places for kitfo in dc area?
Nols and Luli,
You just haven’t tried my mom’s Kitfo. We should arrange sth for that:)
All kitfo taste good to me but I always order the cooked (well done) kitfo, I just dont like when they make it so damn spicey..it puts a hole in your intestines and I start getting heat waves..so cooked and not as spicey thats where its at lol
I like leb leb. The spicier the better, as in hot.
I have heard the mitmita is the secret to a great kitfo. I am guessing the kibe is important too.
I like my kitfo raw. Cooked or leb leb tastes like taco meat to me. My mom makes great kitfo too but it doesn’t hold a candle to her best friend’s kitfo… she makes proper gurage kitfo and it is the best.
I have tried some raw tuna kitfo as well and it is actually very good.
l like my kitfo leb leb with lots of mitmita…..
I like my kitfo leb leb….I like kitfo so much that, Nol, I am offended by you misspelling kitfo (chk ur title).
I know exactly what you mean when u said ‘whatever u guys like’ just to be polite/considerate. I used to do that but not anymore. Just this week, three of us went to a restaurant and one liked it raw while the other didnt care. So I asked the waitress to do it half raw…half lebleb….that way, everyone was happy. Ow, yea I loved Dama’s kitfo….but LA’s Awash restaurant’s kitfo is the BEST!
People should stop eating raw meat. Kitfo is not very healthy.
Baby,
U r another victim of neo-colonialism…Go eat Kentucky Fried Chicken…:)
Kitfo is the best dish on this planet…
Dinich–try shiro… you will live longer.
I love kitfo, lebleb, if one eats steak not well done, many eat their steack medium to rare…. whats wrong with kitfo?
I am not that much a fan of Kitifo … and i always wonder why ppl go crazy about it …:S the amount of grease in it make me loss my apptite ….. but these days i m in to Gored Gored … has anybody tried it ????
))
her – the beauty of kitfo is the spiced butter and the spices (like koseret) that get mixed with the kitfo along with the warmth of the fresh-off-the-pot kitfo tho it’s actually raw cos it’s covered with warm spicy butter
Anonx,
I do I do….I eat shuro way more often than kitfo…myself, my wife and my kids luv shiro…If u ever go to asmara for a visit and you wonder what to bring me as a gift…bring a bag of shiro…
Dinich–I will I will… best shuro I had was in Asm flavored with qunTa. In fact I’ll be there this coming June;a friend decided to have his wedding there because her families are all there. I was thinking about you this past weekend cuz I was listing to this guy named Daniel Nebait from your neck of the wood. He has two songs, very experimental, but came out really nice… the hoyena hoye and kef aleki.
For me, there is no dilemma when it comes to kitfo. I like mine raw in the States and leb leb in Addis–I still haven’t brought my self to eat Tire anything in Addis. I look fwd to doing that one day.
spacefog – i’m so in
Nolawi
Thanks for making me laugh out loud, only you would compare a relationship to kitfo.
I like my kitfo raw but I don’t mind it leb leb either but I have to have it with the whole works …Ayeb, gomen and kocho and more importantly while its warm (before the kebe settles)
I agree Dama is the best Kitfo joint in states.
YES LA’S Awash has the best kitfo on the west side.
tpeace on #23 comment- i’m not that balemuya geen I don’t think koseret goes into kitfo….it’s korerima. Koseret goes into kebe (lemanter)..i’m 95% sure.
that is what she said hewe..
the kibe makes the kitfo.. and if the kibe is bedemb yeTeneterE then the kitfo will be good and u can taste all the spices from the kibe in the kito…
Most people put dont put korerima in the kitfo… they just have special ye kitfo kibe that has extra korerima…
some people put korerima with the mitimita-
I think that is fara style.. too much cardomone makes the kitfo sweet… and that tastes nasty!
I like my kitfo tera… Nolawi, in my personal opinion I don’t believe Dama’s Kitfo is the best at all…
Nolawi, the comment said “the spiced butter AND the spices (like koseret) that get mixed with the Kitfo” there’s a difference nefse.
nefsesh yetfa
lol i am kidding!
I like my kitfo leb leb and not too much kimem…..I think Fasika in St Paul is the best around here.
her;
gored gored in our neck of the woods is served raw. Is that how you have it?
i used to love kitfo, leb-leb ofcourse. last time i had was about 3 months ago, and this time i could see the butter sipped under the injera to the plate, and that was the last time. now, i don’t think this will stop me from a bite or two but i was disgusted with all that butter, plus now days i am not a big meat eater.
for the past 2 yrs my daily diet has been white meat and veggies, i only eat meat when i am around habesha’s territory.
btw, i totally agree with dinich and anonx. anonx could i count on you for some shiro from asmara?
Saron– dinich is almost like family forgive me if I say you will have to show your face here a little more then we can talk about a lot more let along shuro
the last time I said something silly to eriwoman, she disappeared, I hope you don’t do that. Welcome newbie
One thing u guys forgot about what makes a great kitfo is the type of meat….I dunno which part makes good kitfo…The good thing for me is there is an abesha siga bet here in Toronto….All I do is go tell him “le kitfo yemihon siga” and he takes care of the choosing and it always works out….
Afe mirak mola! sitastelu,, beqa heading to abesha restaurant to pick one kitfo up.
talking about the best kitfo…ain’t nobody can cook kitfo like my mom. Seriously,this is true. I want my kitfo to be raw. If kitfo is Lebeleb or else we dont call that kitfo guys we call that TEBes.
datdude…Yes thats how Gored Gored is served Raw spiced up with mitmita and not too much Qe’be but the meat is something soft i wonder which part they take it from. its really soft and red .. i had the best Gored Gored at some restaurant called Asqual about 2 wks ago here in addis …gosh …am salivating right now when i think of it …i tell you it was the best
)
lol, anonx
i am still here, i log in almost every day to bernos, and i have read all the articles and comments, i just don’t leave one. so beware of what u say brother.
hhmmm Her, now you are making me salivate too, except i am nowhere close to any abesha restaurant.
btw, i have the same experience about the gored-gored, its so yammy.i loved it. but like you said i don’t know what part of meat they use, and how they prepare it for that matter. i have asked a friend of mine to get me the receipe, but i don’t think that will happen. if u find out anything, please do share.
and anonx,
you silly, i know you don’t know me. however, nay kal’alem keman heray aytiblin. i would have forgot by then, its a long time to remember. i like your honesty though.
The thought of eating raw meat just bring the Cannibalism images into my head…….
Sarah, canniblas cook thier meat. Have you never watched bugs bunny cartoons before? They always cook thier “meat” in big pots…
How come u guys forgot to mention the kitfo “achafaris”? Kitfo without it is “bicheger.”
Yetetebese/normal qocho, ayeb ena gomen….ouhhhh…. ahun ahun alegn ye Yohannes ebet kitfo!!!
Mariye, what’s ‘achafaris’?
Achafari – “that comes together or accompanies”
Hahaha weyene I was reading it as if it was some kinda spice or herb not like adamakiwochu:)thanks Mariye
I went to an Eritrean restaurant and ordered it slightly cooked – I guess one could compare it to being seared – and it was devine. I do not speak Amarennia (I’m sure I spelled that wrong) or Tigrinia (This as well). What is this called and is this even a traditional way for an ancient Abyssinian to eat Kitfo? None the less, I love it this way if I’m with my father and mother but I prefer it raw. What is that called?
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