Traveling away from home and especially to the South can be daunting for a plant-based eater. Therefore, the excitement I felt when I discovered one of the few Ethiopian restaurants in all of South Carolina was urgent enough for me to declare to my children that our first dinner out would be to Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine. My sales pitch to them was that we would have fun eating our meal without utensils, utilizing the traditional Ethiopian bread, Injera, instead, and everyone from the family vegans to my omnivore son would be able to dine deliciously.
Located on the south side of downtown Myrtle Beach just where Route 501 meets Route 17, Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine may catch your eye with colorful curtains displaying the red, green and yellow stripes of the Ethiopian flag. Inside a somewhat simple but quaint atmosphere, that was empty except for one other table of diners, had us a little leery at first but this was a Tuesday night in mid March so we were confident it would work out. We soon found that this is a gem amongst the plethora of mostly large chain and tourist styled restaurants in Myrtle Beach and it was confirmed after learning that the other diners were very happy regulars.
Our dining adventure began with complimentary
fresh bread (photo, right) and dipping sauce of hot chili
powder (Berbere) covered with olive oil. We also shared
a single appetizer called Sambusa (photo, above center),
which is a pastry crust filled with lentils, green peppers,
and spices. It was enough to share and delicious even if
a little oily from being fried. On the menu it was a nice
surprise to have as many choices for the plant-based
eaters as well as our sole omnivore. It was also nice to
see noted on the menu that all vegetarian options are
vegan so there was no manipulating around the menu.
(http://www.redi-et.com/menu/menu.html).
Ordering at Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine was super easy because the traditional Ethiopian platter means choosing 3 vegetarian menu entrees which arrive with a salad on an oversized, plate-covering serving of Injera, a gluten-free flatbread made from teff. The Injera will become your only utensil. My daughter selected three mild/medium entrée items for her platter (photo, below right): 1) Atkilt Alicha (potatoes, green beans, and carrots stewed with ginger root, and garlic), 2) Misir Alicha (red lentils cooked with garlic, onions, green pepper, ginger root, and turmeric, and 3) Shiro Wat (sundried peas and
beans ground and cooked with red chili pepper powder,
onions, garlic, and ginger. I decided to see how hot, hot
might be and also wanted greens so along with the same
Atkilt Alicha, I ordered the hot Misir Wat (red lentils
cooked with onions, garlic, ginger rootand red chili
pepper powder, and the mild fresh spinach stewed with
onions, garlic, and spices (photo, top right). I almost
wish I had opted for the collard greens mostly because I
was in the South even though the spinach was delicious.
When I go again I will also ask for a hotter version of any
hot dishes. The Misir Wat was just mildly hot, nothing scorching or even tongue tingling.
Although this review is primarily for plant-based eaters, I want to mention my son’s dish since I do believe that there are many ‘mixed’ families out there who need this kind of info. He kept his selection simple with a chicken dish consisting of basmati rice cooked with corn, carrots, green beans which included a small but just-right amount of chopped grilled chicken, and a side salad. As much as he said the flavors were fabulous, and ate the veggie mixed rice, he reached repeatedly to our plants for Injera, and our selections. Next time we go we might ask for his dinner as a platter with two vegetarian sides and Injera.
Our dinner at Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine was not only delicious and fun, the price was astoundingly fair and reasonable totaling only $40 for the three of us to dine without tip! Here’s how it broke out: vegetarian platters were only $9 each (this was dinner not lunch), and my son’s chicken dish was $10. The appetizer was $3 for three (3) pieces of Sambusa and drinks/iced tea (with free refills) were $1.75/each. We did notice that the other diners there (all men) enjoyed beers, which looked like an interesting assortment.
If we were staying in Myrtle Beach longer, Redi-et Ethiopian Cuisine would be on our list for a second visit and we will surely spread the word about this great place.
746 Main St, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 238-2879
Hours:
Mon: Closed
Tues- Fri: 4:00 - 10:00
Sat. 12:00 - 10:00
Sun. 1:00 - 9:00
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I always look for restaurants and markets to recommend in my day-to-day life and travels. When I find them and write a review I will be posting here and also contributing to other websites and publications. If this review sounded interesting or useful, you should sign up for my newsletter and give me a favor back by recommending my website and Facebook page to your friends. You can also drop me a line anytime. I always love to hear from you. (blog@gladforhealth.com)
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