Ragglesnazzlers. Winderwills. Salaboons. Lingading Frumps.
These are the things I thought Ethiopians ate. No, I’m just kidding. Actually, I had no idea what Ethiopians ate, which tempted me to find out.
The Blue Nile, conveniently located at 2361 N. High St., is my first experience with Ethiopian cuisine and possibly any cuisine from the African continent.
The food is exotic, but usually when I say exotic, it’s a nice way of saying bad. This is not the case here. Exotic here is a difference in presentation and form that turns out for the better.
You have the choice when dining of sitting at a typical table with plates and silverware (which is what you’ll do if you’re boring and lame) or the time-honored Ethiopian way, at a roughly two-foot high mushroom-shaped standing tray-like apparatus (called Mosseb) with a bowl that sits in the center of a group of small chairs. The Mosseb is a weave of Rasta colors in designs fit for Haile Selassie.
Sharing from the Mosseb is socially significant in the Ethiopian culture (I’m told) and represents friendship and loyalty among diners.
The carpeted dining area is kept fairly clean. Burning incense perfumes the air, but the smell is not overly strong. Traditional music plays softly over the speakers.
The Vegetarian Sambusa appetizer ($1.95/ $2.95 meat filled) set the standard for the rest of the evening. It came in a triangular egg-roll-like shell and was filled with potatoes, peas, and herbs. The mildly spicy starter was served steaming hot, and the taste was almost breathtaking. Co-reviewer Scallop said the hint of honey in the wrapping gave it an overall sweet taste.
The main courses run about $7-$9 apiece, or you can opt for the combination platters that cost anywhere between $12-$34 for 1-4 people.
Each table shares large flat pieces of bread (almost like a crepe) called Injera, which are used to scoop out the food which all sits on the community dish. So make sure your fellow diners wash their hands before they interact with everyone else’s food.
Scallop said the bread tasted a bit like a lemony pancake, with which I can’t disagree.
The Doro Wat ($7.99) included two meaty pieces of chicken served in a Berbere sauce, which is a sauce based in red peppers. The sauce tasted a little like barbecue and went well with the Injera. The entrée was also served with two hard-boiled eggs.
The Berbere sauce also covered the Yebeg Wat ($8.99), but was spicier when added to the already spiced chunks of lamb. I preferred this concoction to the chicken.
Lega Tibs ($8.99) are pieces of beef sautéed in butter with onions and pepper.
“The meat was very lively and had an overall bright taste,” Scallop said.
Kik Alicha ($7.45) looked a little like creamed corn but tasted nothing like it. It is a mix of yellow split peas, onions and garlic and has a pleasantly fresh taste.
The entrees are garnished with a clumpy white cheese that is boiled from cow’s milk right there in the restaurant. It goes best with the Berbere sauce.
To finish the meal you can eat the Injera that the entrees sat upon and the sauces soaked into. It might be the best part if you still have room for it.
The service is extremely friendly and quick. The appetizer was out within minutes of ordering it and the main courses the same. Our waitress who was dressed in traditional garb refilled our drinks at least four times. The manager even came to our table to ask if everything was all right or if we had any questions regarding the food. He even told us he was proud of us for eating so much. Proud of us! I don’t even know where else you could hear a comment like that.
The Blue Nile is closed Mondays and has a daily lunch buffet the rest of the week from 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tue-Fri), and is open for dinner from 5 p.m.-10 p.m.(5 p.m.-9 p.m. Sun).
Nicholas Gill is a senior in English and journalism and be can reached for question or comment at [email protected].
