Ethiopian Food Coming to Embermill
Saba Tewolde Hosting Tigray Benefit on June 20; Starts Serving Lunch at State Street Restaurant
For many Santa Barbarans, their first tastes of the teff-based flatbread injera and spicy sega wat stew came from the kitchen of Saba Tewolde, who’s been sharing her Ethiopian cuisine with us for years. This weekend, she’ll embark on the next stage of her career, hosting a pop-up dinner on June 20 at Embermill to benefit the strife-ravaged Tigray region, which is her homeland, and then starting to serve lunch regularly at the Caribbean restaurant on State Street.
“My dream since I was 7 years old was to open an Ethiopian restaurant,” explained Tewolde, who was invited to the Embermill kitchen by its owner, Harold Welch. The Saturday-night dinner is 5-10 p.m., and then lunches will be served noon-5 p.m., Monday-Saturday.
Tewolde learned to cook from her grandmother during her childhood in Ethiopia, where food was a critical concern. “Growing up in Ethiopia was difficult because of the war and hunger,” explained Tewolde, who’s been catering Ethiopian meals around Santa Barbara for years. “Many people escaped as refugees. I was one of those people who had to escape to survive.”
