Michuu Ethiopian Restaurant

I used to live steps from the corner of Wilson and Sheridan and after my first visit to Tesfa, I knew that Demera would never be my top choice for Ethiopian again. There was just an intensity of flavors that elevated it. Tesfa got increasingly popular and they've since moved into larger digs. The good news for Uptown is that Tesfa's replacement, Michuu, might be even better. At the very least, they have some dishes that make this place destination dining.


Mike Sula (who else?) just put this place on the map for most Chicagoans with his new review in The Reader. The whole thing is definitely worth a read to get the background (and to give the Reader and Sula lots of deserved clicks).

For those who didn't click, here's a brief partial recap of some high points. The Oromo are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia There are plenty of Oromo-owned restaurants in the US, but this place may well be the only one serving a few Oromo dishes. Here they are:

Sula wrote:Ukaamsaa, or afanyi in Amharic, is also common where Lemu and Rikitu grew up, but not so much elsewhere. It’s ground beef or sometimes lamb, sauteed in niter kibbeh with heroic amounts of green chili, ginger, and garlic.

So much flavor in this one. 100% will get it again. One note: they asked us if we liked spicy, we said we did, and the dish was great but it wasn't that spicy. She asked if it was too spicy and we said we could definitely handle more heat. She asked if we wanted it how she ate it and we said yes.


The second version came with a whole lot of chili infused niter kibbeh (clarified butter) poured on top and it was just magnificent. It's still not super spicy. You're going to want to order this and insist on OG spice levels.


Another winner was the chororsa/chumbo. This one takes a long time to make so either plan on a very long meal or call ahead to order it. The base is a flatbread made from teff, but it's thicker, sturdier and less fermented than injera. Sula explains what goes on top:

Sula wrote:Meanwhile, Lemu prepares ayib, a fresh cheese she curdles from whole milk. Once cooled, she mixes in a little mitmita, cardamom, niter kibbeh, and salt. During baking, the dark-brown bread rises about a half inch high; she spreads it with the ayib and uses a spoon to notch a wavelike pattern into the surface of the cheese. Tableside, she drizzles warm niter kibbeh spiked with mitmita all over its surface and cuts it into slices like a pizza.

This was our last dish of the night and we were really full. And it was still really great. I can also confirm that it's great for breakfast the next day straight out of the fridge.


The third Oromo specialty wasn't my favorite. Anchote is a very popular Ethiopian tuber. Anchootee seems to mostly be anchote, garlic, and a while lot of oil. Interesting enough but not for me.

While those Oromo specialties were our target, most of the menu is standard for Ethiopian restaurants in the US.


But there was nothing standard about this kitfo. After double and triple checking that we really wanted it raw, our server/chef/owner brought out the best bowl of raw beef I've had. I don't know nearly enough about Ethiopian seasoning to guess at the difference, the flavor really stood out in a good way. The meat was also a bit different texturally than what I was used to, but I really liked that as well.


We also got a plate of sabusas. We tried lamb, chicken, and lentil. They were all good. If you're not going to overorder and could use an appetizer, by all means grab an order. But I'd recommend overordering.


The various veggies and sides that came with everything were all really good. The ayib, which is the same homemade cheese described above, was especially good. I was also big fan of the beets, which seemed to be a mix of red and golden, each cooked to different levels of doneness. I've never had that anywhere and it really worked.

This place is a gem. I can't wait to go back.

Edited to add: BYOB with no corkage

Michuu Ethiopian Restaurant
1023 W Wilson Ave
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 654-3175

Moved to the top of my list

wow, beautiful food and pictures, thanks!

I've been back twice in the last week. The first was actually not planned. I wasn't hungry but recommended the place to a couple of people and decided to meet them towards the end of the meal. The problem is that things don't move quickly at Michuu (plan on a couple hours) and that only the appetizers had been served when I got there. I was able to resist the sambusas, but once the entrees came, I was powerless. New dishes not in my last post:


The doro wot was excellent. I don't eat enough Ethiopian food to say this was better than other versions in town, but I do eat enough to say it wasn't worse. The sauce was great but the chicken was overcooked, which is kind of what I'm used to.


The kitfo wasn't new but the prep was. I found it odd that the kitfo is listed on the menu as being either "Medium cooked or well done." On my previous visit, we insisted on raw and got it. This time the order was well done. As you can see, well done kitfo is not what most of us would consider anything resembling well done ground beef. This might have been even better than the totally raw one. Wouldn't mind doing a side by side, but that would require some real ordering power because as good as it is, I don't think I have an all kitfo meal in me.


Third visit had a few new items as well as the chumbo. The chumbo was even better this time around. In reality, it was probably the same, but I wasn't as full when it came to the table so my taste buds were still functioning properly. You're going to want to split the chumbo with a group though or plan on bringing a lot home. It's heavy.

The light brown stuff (lower left) is shiro, a well seasoned chickpea flour they import from Ethiopia. Not the prettiest, but it was delicious. I don't think I've had it before


Atakilt Alicha (cabbage, carrots, and potatoes cooked with jalapeno, onions, garlic, ginger, and turmeric) was really tasty. Not a game changer, but very nice. I think it's the only Ethiopian food I've had that I preferred without injera since I thought the sourness from the injera covered up the seasoning.



Key wot was, not surprisingly, even better than the doro wot. The sauce was the same but beef is better than chicken. I'm going to go out on a limb and say if you like chicken more than beef, you'll probably think the doro wot is better. I could be wrong.


This was beets and potatoes. On my first visit, we thought it was red beets and golden beets. I still think it was but maybe what I thought were golden beets were actually just potatoes (cut a lot smaller than here)? Who knows. The flavors were great.

There are only a few restaurants I go to four times in a year. I've already been here 3 times in a month and I have plans to go back next week. It's my fault - I keep telling people about it. I might be Ethiopianed out for a while soon but for now I don't mind one bit.

Despite the Reader article and a glowing report Michuu got from a prominent Ethiopian TikToker, they're not overflowing with customers (half empty tonight).

I was lucky enough to receive an invite to Michuu this past week and can echo all the nice things said above.

Sambusas

Lentil

Chicken & Beef


I believe we ordered just about the whole menu:
Kitfo, Anchote, Ukamsa/Afanyi, Yatakilt Alicha

Doro Wot, Key Wot


And 'dessert':
Chororsa





And coffee to end the meal:


Despite how tasty this meal was, as MarlaCollins'Husband mentioned, service is slowwwww. We had a reservation at 6:15 and I believe we didn't get before 10. The meal was great, but perhaps you should bring a book and be prepared to wait.

incite wrote:I was lucky enough to receive an invite to Michuu this past week and can echo all the nice things said above.

Late to the party but not to the dinner. I was also at this one. Thanks, for posting the beautiful and informative shots. I know virtually nothing about Ethiopian food but I really enjoyed the meal, too. I'm not familiar enough with the cuisine to make any meaningful comparisons with other places around town but the food is delicious and -- as others have posted -- there are items on this menu that cannot be had anywhere else in Chicago. For aficionados and enthusiasts, that alone should be a strong draw.

incite wrote:Despite how tasty this meal was, as MarlaCollins'Husband mentioned, service is slowwwww. We had a reservation at 6:15 and I believe we didn't get before 10. The meal was great, but perhaps you should bring a book and be prepared to wait.

Yes. In spite of the fine food and great company, this was tough duty. Four hours is just a long time to spend having dinner. At my age, 240 minutes is actually a measurable percentage of how much time I have left. So, assemble the proper party and be prepared to linger over the course of your meal.

=R=

I never feel caffeine. Ever. Until that rocket fuel that had me grinding my teeth wide eyed in bed 2 hrs later.

Jazzfood wrote:I never feel caffeine. Ever. Until that rocket fuel that had me grinding my teeth wide eyed in bed 2 hrs later.

Maybe they should serve the coffee first.

=R=

I needed it after 3 hrs. The fact that they roast the beans to order may have something to do w/it. Haven't been that wired in 30 yrs.

Jazzfood wrote:I needed it after 3 hrs. The fact that they roast the beans to order may have something to do w/it. Haven't been that wired in 30 yrs.

Yeah, it's been well over a decade since I gave up caffeine. I knew well enough to sit this one out . . . but those roasting beans did smell great.

=R=

Service has consistently been slow in my 4 visits and this one was the slowest by far. In Michuu's defense, there were two other groups that sat down after us and left before us so I do wonder if we were giving off a weird "we're here all night" vibe. Still, slow but not this slow is hardly a ringing endorsement of the pace and I hope they figure out that people want to eat dinner faster than Michuu is operating because I don't think a business is sustainable moving this slowly. And since the food here is top notch and the owner seems extremely nice, that'd be a real shame.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote: I don't think a business is sustainable moving this slowly. And since the food here is top notch and the owner seems extremely nice, that'd be a real shame.

Yes. How can you profitably run a restaurant with just 1 seating a night ?

Personally, I won't go to any restaurant that I know will take 3-4 hours.

Let's be careful where we tread here on giving restaurant advice to cultures originating in on the other side of the globe....

Remember what happened to Babu?



(first 5 minutes)

lougord99 wrote:Personally, I won't go to any restaurant that I know will take 3-4 hours.

To be clear, 3-4 hours was an anomaly. I've been 4 times and this was the longest visit by far. 2-2.5 seems normal based on my other visits. And the two groups that started after us and left before us were in that time frame or even faster.

It's BYOB. Not hard to pass the time until the food starts coming. Just make sure you go with people you like. The reward is some top tier Ethiopian and a few dishes you've probably never had in your life.

Willkat98 wrote:Let's be careful where we tread here on giving restaurant advice to cultures originating in on the other side of the globe....

Remember what happened to Babu?



(first 5 minutes)

Haha!

=R=

Just guessing but perhaps it was how much you ordered and that you were photographing your dishes—they probably didn’t want to dump a ton of stuff on your table at once, thinking you were there for more than just a regular dinner. And maybe couldn’t make so many things at once. The other tables coming in after and finishing before you was probably because they ordered differently (fewer dishes).

Dined here with a group of four about a week ago. Can't say enough good things about this place. It was like having a very thoughtful meal at someone's home, except they didn't dine with you. Lemu was an exceptional hostess.

I don't have much more to say about the meal that hasn't already been said except that we enjoyed everything. I couldn't decide between kitfo and gored gored so I ordered them both. They were both very good. I didn't really need two raw meat preps, but such is life. I had some leftovers and I'm happy to report that they are both good as part of a bowl of fried rice. The gored gored is cut into cubes instead of minced so the texture and seasoning are quite different than the kitfo. As a minor quibble, I would have preferred the cubes to be a bit smaller. We got these two dishes plus afanyi with corn injera and chorosa. The chorosa is delicious but does arrive a bit too late in the meal as it's one of the more filling things I've had in some time. A half size portion could easily serve a party of six (or more). Lemu added some vegetables to round out our platter. The yemisir wot was memorable. We also got some serviceable sambusa which I might recommend as you might want something before your main platter arrives, as it will most likely take some time. That being said, we were in and out in about two hours.

I called ahead two days to order the corn injera and the chorosa and reserve a table. A shout-out to Mike Sula and MarlaCollin'sHusband for their assistance with ordering.

There was one other table of two seated when we arrived and no other tables were seated during our stay. If you are remotely interested in Ethiopian food, you should get over here asap! I even wrote a five star Google review, which I never do.

Michuu, count me a fan!

HI,

Earlier this summer, I took a friend who adores Ethiopian. I told her about the slow service. We paid for two hours parking and hoped for the best.

There was a party atmosphere with at least two parties with substantial attendance. Some of the party goers cleared our table, which was loaded with their purses.

We ordered sambusas, an off-menu vegetarian selection and kitfo chopped raw lamb. When we attempted to order chororsa/chumbo, they had a horrified look on their face. Eventually we were told to order it 30 minutes before we arrive at a future date.

Most of the time was spent in conversation, because there was a long time between the sambusas and the main course.

My friend wanted more heat in the mixed vegetable platter, but someone who visited nearly the same time had the same disappointment. My kitfo was mild as asked for and just loved it. I was worried my seasoning request influenced the vegetable seasoning, but that was not the case.

Unfortunately, I will have to find someone else to come along in the future. My friend was disappointed with her food.

We did get back to the car with three minutes to spare. Win!

Regards,
Cathy2