ADA’S LATIN FLAVOR, DOMINICAN AND ETHIOPIAN CUISINE
From the Dominican side of the menu, we had fried sweet plantains and mofongo (fried and then mashed green plantains) layered with shredded beef and surrounded by a sweet tasting red sauce with onions and peppers. The layering of the plantains with the meat created a hearty and distinguished dish.
Since Ethiopian food can only be found at a handful of restaurants in New Jersey, we opted for a combination platter for two and were presented with a serving dish, which could have held a 20-pound turkey. The dish was lined with injera, a spongy bread made with teff flour, which you tear off with your hands and use to scoop up the food. This sour tasting bread was topped with Yesiga Tibs—lean beef cubes cooked with onions, peppers, tomato, garlic, ginger, rosemary and jalapeño; Doro Tibs–marinated pieces of chicken breast cooked with onions, peppers, tomato, garlic and ginger; and a mixture of spicy lentils, potato, string beans, carrot, cabbage, and yellow peas; and a tomato, onion and lettuce salad. We bundled these offerings into the injera and happily popped them into our mouths, where we experienced layers of well balanced and interesting flavors. Dessert was a thick creamy coconut flan.
When you’re looking for something different, seek out Ethiopian food as the exuberant flavors created from the different spices used (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, fenugreek, and tumeric, to name a few) as well as the sour, almost lemony taste of the injera, are a delightful change from other ethnic cuisines. Ada’s may be a no-frills, hole in the wall, 20-seat restaurant, but we do not hesitate to recommend this place to you. It is also inexpensive, $20 a person with tax and tip and the service is friendly.
Open Monday through Saturday from 11 AM.
Ada’s Latin Flavor
279 Broadway
Long Branch
732-222-5005
BYO
Mofongo
Injera with a variety of meats and vegetables.
Photos courtesy of Lowell Saferstein
Please send press releases and restaurant news, including information on staff changes, wine tastings, and cooking classes, to [email protected].