Zaitun Restaurant
849 Forest Ave., Portland
838-5500
There’s not much that would get me to voluntarily navigate Portland’s Forest Avenue in summer, especially during evening rush hour, except food. I live to eat, not eat to live. So when I heard about a new Somali restaurant in the former Loco Taco space across from Baxter Woods, I gassed up my car and rounded up my early-bird dining friends for an adventure.
We met in the back parking lot around 5 p.m., and as soon as the doors opened we knew we were in for something good. The scent of roasting meat and exotic (for Maine) spices hit us immediately, and the sight of several mature women sitting on milk crates outside the kitchen showed us we were destined to have an authentic experience at Zaitun.
Upon entering the tiny, sunken space, we were warmly greeted by owner Abdulrahman Idow’s daughter, who went on to suggest several of her mother’s “must try” dishes from an extensive menu covering breakfast, lunch and dinner! Her first recommendation, not listed on the menu, was Spaghetti with Salmon ($21.99).
This was 100 percent not what I was expecting as my first Somali food experience, but then I (a DiBenedetto) remembered that Italy ruled over Somalia until the British kicked the fascists out in World War II. History makes me ill sometimes, but homemade spaghetti never has. My first bite transported me straight to a late-night pasta dinner, the kind where the noodles may have sat in the sauce pot a bit longer than usual to soak up all the fat, spices and tomato, ya know? It was immediately comforting and delicious.
We were also recommended the Chicken Somali Rice ($16.99) — slow roasted, spiced, fall-off-the-bone chicken legs served with a kilo of rice — and Ambuulo ($6.99), a red bean and grain dish, served with granulated white sugar and oil. We added the Malawah crêpe-like pancakes (99 cents each) to swipe up any remaining sauce on the dishes.
Many entrées come with Somali injera, which I’m excited to try on my next trip, as they were sold out of the spongey flatbread — said to be smaller and less sour than its Ethiopian counterpart — the evening we visited. These include chicken ($17.99) and lamb ($19.99) injera dishes braised with warm berbere spices and tomato, as well as beef ($15.99) and chicken ($14.99) suqaar plates.
There are also traditional fusion dishes like Hummus Oodkac ($11.99), served with spiced jerky-like dried beef, and Channa Masala ($16.99) with braised chickpeas and Indian spices. Or try out the Somali versions of shawarmas or gyros (both $11.99).
No alcohol is served, but you can wash this all down with some of Zaitun’s delectably spiced Somali tea or coffee ($2/$2.25) or homemade mint lemonade ($2). And for dessert, more fusion: hits like Classic Tiramisu ($4), Basbousa (a tender semolina cake; $1), and African donuts (40 cents each).
If you’re reading these prices and thinking I forgot a digit, you are mistaken, my friend. Those are actual prices! So, go! And get enough to have this food a couple times a week. You can get takeout or sit at the small tables inside or the picnic tables on the patio. Our meals were conveniently served in styrofoam containers for leftovers, but upon leaving we noticed others meals served on plates. Maybe just ask for plates if you’re planning to eat it all there.
Places like Zaitun are true gems, filled with a community of folks hungry for tastes of their homeland, and locals venturing into new cuisines like my crew. We Mainers are lucky to have such global delights so close to home — even if it requires taking a left on Forest.
Zaitun is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Monday.
