Sep. 09, 2009 - Issue #725: Sex in the City 2009
Karmel Café And Restaurant
Warmth of East Africa: Karmel Café and Restaurant serves up hospitality, authenticity
Karmel Café and Restaurant serves food from East Africa, namely Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. We arrive shortly after 8:30 pm—during the month of Ramadan, the dining room opens at this time—and a server greets us at the door and seats us at a table for two. Many of the other tables are full—it's Sunday evening, and the place is hopping. A good sign.
Karmel's warmth—both in temperature and décor—becomes apparent immediately. The dining room feels quite warm, but not uncomfortably so. The walls are painted in large geometric patterns, using bright colours like reds and greens. Large posters and wall hangings cover the walls; burgundy tablecloths with golden, elephant-patterned embroidery decorate the tables. The lighting itself is soft, and a little oasis of trees rests to my immediate right. It's the kind of eclectic and homey atmosphere that's common in family-run establishments, one that gives a place its specific and unique feel. Throughout our meal, we notice that many of the people who enter the place, and those who work there, seem to know each other; greetings and conversations surround us, suggesting a kind of community. All of this adds to the warmth that we feel here.
The server takes our drink order. The banana and mango shakes ($2) that we initially request are not available tonight, so we both ask for some mango juice ($2) instead. Mango juice is a bit thicker than orange juice, and tastes creamier and less acidic. It goes down very well.
We look at the menu. There is one page for breakfast, one for lunch and one for supper. Although it's an East African place, the menu has one column for North American dishes, and one column for food from the African cultures. Between the two columns, the supper menu has about 10 options; the entire menu is Halal.
I order the beef suqaar ($10), which is beef cubes cooked in a soup broth. From the options of sides, I select muufo, a thick, fluffy bread. My companion orders the chicken suqaar ($10), selecting chapati, a thinner, flatter bread, as the side, after hearing the server's explanation about these two menu items. The server, a soft-spoken man, answers our questions about the restaurant and the food, and attends to us very well. In talking with him, we learn that this place opened on Canada Day.
We both enjoy our meals. The beef suqaar has a nice, spicy zing to it, which seeps even into the vegetables found in the sauce. The meat itself is tender and pleasant to eat. I'm also a big fan of the muufo—because it's so fluffy it just soaks up the beef sauce. The texture reminds me a bit of a muffin; together with the beef sauce, the muufo is a winner. The salad has a tangier, more citrus-like dressing, so I'm probably using each one of my taste buds for all the flavours that are happening on this plate.
The poultry is as pleasing as the bovine dish. No less spicy, the chicken also entices with its strong flavour and gentle texture. The chapati, much like the muufo, win both of us over too. It's like a pancake, flat and a bit sweet. Cut into triangles, and heaped on the plate, the chapati allows for the quickest possible pick-up, wrapping and eating action of the chicken and veggies. Being the kind of person who can never finish everything that she orders, and because the portion sizes are generous, I take half of my meal home.
Both of us are stuffed when we leave, but we're happy. The food was delicious, and the prices just as reasonable. And we're both happy to know that if we want good East African food, we don't have to wait around for Heritage Days to roll around in a year. V
Open 9 am – 12 am daily (during the month of Ramadan, the restaurant opens at 4:30 pm for takeout, and 8:30 pm for sit-down dining)
Karmel Café and Restaurant
9420 - 118 Ave, 780.757.2223
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