- Mike Sula
- Den Den spread
Eritrean food? Pretty much the same as Ethiopian. So says the Food Chain’s east African cuisine correspondent, Harry Kloman. “I’ve asked Eritreans how the food is different,” he writes. “Some say it’s spicier, some say it’s less spicy. Some say Eritreans use less butter so it’s less greasy, others say no, that’s not true. In other words: same food, just with different (Tigrinya) names.”
Little less spicy, not particularly greasy is the MO at Rogers Park’s Den Den, the city’s only Eritrean restaurant, which replaced Las Islas Marias late last year. That’s not to say it isn’t worth checking out: at the very least it provides a socially acceptable opportunity to eat spaghetti with your hands.