Altu's Ethiopian Cuisine brings authentic east-African taste to East Lansing

EAST LANSING, MI -- Although the dishes at Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine originated in the kitchens of east Africa, the restaurant’s warm service and flavorful food can make anyone feel closer to home.

Owner Altaye Tadesse opened the restaurant 16 years ago to bring the cuisine of her native country to the Lansing area. What started as an establishment with just a few tables and chairs has since expanded into a spacious dining room to accommodate the many customers craving Tadesse’s healthy, homemade dishes.
Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine, 1312 Michigan Ave., offers its guests a traditional Ethiopian dining experience: Throughout the restaurant sit basket-like tables called mesob, which each hold one large plate for a party to share. Food is eaten not with a fork or spoon, but instead with the help of injera, a spongy, crepe-like flatbread served with every meal.
“It’s family-style eating from the same plate with your fingers,” Tadesse said. “So you go wash your hands and get ready, and you cut your piece of bread and grab your (food) with the bread. That’s how you eat.”
(Booth seating and silverware are available for less adventurous diners.)

Altaye Tadesse, owner of Altu's Ethiopian Cuisine, sits at a traditional mesob table.Marina Csomor | For MLive.com

Growing up in Ethiopia, Tadesse had a passion for making meals from the moment she began learning the skill at 9 years old. And after coming with her husband to Michigan to continue their educations, Tadesse knew cooking was her calling.

“I came to this country, (and) I thought, ‘I can cook, and I love cooking -- what a better way of owning my own business than having a restaurant?,’” Tadesse said. “So I’d been dreaming about it for a long time, and then finally it happened.”
Many of the dishes served at Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine are vegetarian, including meals of white peas and potatoes, and garlic lentils. Chicken, beef and lamb stews seasoned with spices such as berbere, garlic and ginger also are available.
The restaurant’s specialty is a lima bean dish not traditionally served at Ethiopian establishments but has always been a favorite of the owner’s.
Lansing resident Anne Carrigan and her husband Daniel Luke stop by Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine for lunch every Friday — a tradition that began about two years ago. Each week, the couple looks forward not only to the healthy food but also the sincere service.
“It feels almost like when you have a really good friend when you’re a kid, and you go over to their house, and their mom cooks you something that’s really wonderful,” Carrigan said. “It’s not intimidating like some restaurants that have really good food… This feels really homey and very earnest and very loving.”
Tadesse suspects it’s the food’s unique flavor that keeps diners coming back.
“Our original customers from day one are still with us too, so it seems like we’re growing slowly but fortunately,” Tadesse said.

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