On Cloud Nine at Blue Nile

The Gastronomical All Stars explore a world of Watt, Tibs and finger food

I always liked cousin Michael, but now I like him even more. That's because he picked Blue Nile Cafe for our January dinner club outing.

I've heard buzz about the restaurant for months, and am glad that now I can be the one raving about it. I ate the best food I've eaten in months, and I just didn't expect Ethiopian food to be so delectable.

Since I couldn't try the Kenyan beer, I ordered ginger juice, which is pineapple juice, water and lots of ginger. It was delicious and probably has so much Vitamin C and other healthy properties that I won't catch any colds this winter. Will report back on this theory.

For the entree I had the Misir Watt (red lentils) and my sides were Gomen (collard greens) and Shimbera Assa (chickpea stew with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, mustard and nutmeg). As Michael mentions below, we were given no silverware: everything was to be eaten with Injera bread (which Becky was sure was not edible when our food was brought out!) using your fingers.

The truly amazing thing about Blue Nile's food is how complex it is--all those spices combine to make each dish so unique and flavorful. I think I described the food as "bold" although that sounds a little pretentious, now doesn't it? And for all that flavor, nothing I tasted, at least to my taste, was over the top. Just simple food cooked really well with truly delicious seasonings. What more could you want?

My rating was 4.5/5, putting it right up there with Grunauer as a top dinner club pick. I encourage you, even if you find yourself reading this post and doubting how tasty a meal of lentil stew can be, to give Blue Nile a try. You will not regret it.

Am I a vegetarian?

Well I'm glad to report that the Blue Nile was a success!

I was a doubter up until the moment the first lentil seed hit my tongue, but taste it seems is less subjective than I previously concluded. To this point in my life I had always been a practicing carnivore. My breakfasts, lunches and dinners often showed to be a little light in the vegetable corner of the food pyramid, and this night would have been no different if it weren't for the extra vegetarian side dishes.

The waiter, who was back to the Nile for the first time after a 3 month hiatus, said that we were allowed one main dish from anywhere on the menu and two side dishes from the vegetarian section. Of course all I heard was "you are allowed one thing you'll really like, and two things you will have to tolerate." I chose the Yepeg Tibs, which I think roughly translated to "seasoned lamb," after both my parents decided on the chicken dishes. Although I ordered the #6 and #7 veggie dishes, I was delivered the #2 (lentil seeds as the main ingredient) and the #6 (mushrooms).

They delivered my mom's, dad's and my own main dishes separately and our side dishes on a communal platter. The platter was complete with some sort of rolled up bread whose name I can't remember. Justin described the bread as a "spongy pancake" that isn't sweet. We were expected to eat everybite of our meal using the bread as an eating utensil.

What surprised me most about my meal was that the vegetarian side dishes proved to be quite possibly the most delicious non-meat eats of my life. The lamb was to put it simply, very tasty, but the vegetarian bit was astounding. The lentil seed side dish was so surprisingly delicious that every bite felt like a dinner double take, testing to see if the last bite was really as good as I remembered. I wanted to switch it with my main dish! The mushroom dish was spicy yet flavorful, a perfect combination for my mouth. And on top of it all the bread was a perfect complement to every flavor. Needless to say the food was a 5 out of 5 stars in my book.

As for the rest of the meal, everything was either satisfactory or good. The service was good and our waiter was likable. The prices were more than reasonable. The atmosphere was appropriate, and the warm towels after the meal gave everything a proper resolution. All things considered The Blue Nile comes highly recommended for anyone with an adventurous tongue and a preference for finger food.

Overall rating: 4.5/5.0

January's Pick

The Dinner Club will be going Ethiopian next week for January's restaurant. Stay tuned for our reviews!