Monday, June 1, 2015

Blue Nile cafe

Don't they look like they are having fun?

11 comments:

  1. I learned that I love injera. I tried both the teff and wheat (light colored) and the gluten free injera. Both were very good, but I especially liked the extra tartness of the gluten free injera. I did a little research on the teff grain and discovered it is extremely nutritious. According to Elaine Gordon's April 8, 2014 Washington Post article teff is a good source of protien, fiber, magnesuim and calcium.
    Kathy Gaillard

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    1. Correct Kathy - it is one of the best grains on the planet.

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  2. I too tried both types of the injera. I thought the gluten free was a tad sour but I wish I would have tried it before the teff and wheat. I think I would have liked it if I wasn't already used to the plain taste. Everything was good!
    Kari Mellin

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  3. I tried everything including the gluten free injera. I did not strongly dislike anything that I tried. The base used for the chicken and beef stews as well as the lentils reminded me of canned Hormel chili. My favorite, by far, was the vegetable mix of potato, cabbage and carrot (I think). I enjoyed that flavor the most. Overall, I like trying new things, regardless if I end up a fan or not. I'm usually happy to have had the experience.
    Renee Roe

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  4. Prior to going to the restaurant, I googled Blue Nile Café to review the menu and to learn more about the restaurant since I had not been to this specific Ethiopian eatery. I enjoyed reading their “About” section which provided insight into the family’s heritage, how the meal would be served, and the décor of their establishment.
    The meal consisted of a veggie Sambusa and a Meat Combo platter which included Gomen (collard greens), Misir Watt (lentil stew), Atiklett (cabbage and carrots), Doro Watt (chicken), and Tibbs Watt (beef) served with injera (spongy type of “bread”). Overall, the meal was very tasty; however, I was not a huge fan of the injera. The reason I did not like the injera was the texture. The spices used in Ethiopian food are definitely different than the spices my husband uses in our meals!
    By the meal being served communal style, I felt this encouraged interaction amongst the guests. At our table, I enjoyed the conversations about other people’s travel destinations and their personal dining experiences while being in other countries. These conversations allowed for a more intimate connection amongst the group.
    I consider my husband and myself adventurous diners. I am willingly to try almost anything once. Through experiences like this, it is a pleasant change to try something firsthand and compare it to the foods I normally eat. By trying the foods of another culture you realize you don’t have to have traditional American dishes for every meal. Since I had previously tried this type of cuisine, I had no difficulty accepting the food that was served. It was yummy!
    Overall, it was a good dining experience even if our utensils were taken away from us!
    Nicole Burl

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    1. Nicole - I also enjoyed the conversation and getting to know folks. Thanks for being a good sport about the utensils!

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  5. I enjoyed the opportunity to be able to experience a different culture of food and learn more about their traditions with regard to food. On assignment with my classmates at the Blue Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant, was an assignment that I will never forget. We sat at tables of four and shared a sample platter or tray of different foods. We started out with beverages. One classmate had a sample of honey wine, another spice tea, and myself and another classmate had a blend of mango juice and pineapple. We started the meal with Sambusa, a flaky vegetable pastry filled with lentils, cabbage, and special seasonings. Next we enjoy tasting the different samples. The collard greens, called gomen, were sort of bland but tasty, chicken stew, called doota watt, was my favorite, lentil stew, called mesan watt, was spicy and flavorful, beef stew, called teaken watt, was not my favorite, a bit chewy, and mixture of cabbage, carrots, potatoes, seasoned with tumeric was awesome. The base of the sauce is called kulet or goulette. I enjoyed the atmosphere and learning with my classmates. We did not use utensils at our table as to keep with the tradition. We ate bread, called injera, which was tasty. We used the bread as a utensil to pick up the food.
    Overall, I would recommend this restaurant to friends or family who would like to try something new. What I would not recommend trying is the gluten free bread (injera). It is not tasty on the palette at all.
    Monica A. Smith

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  6. My first thoughts of our meal at Blue Nile were that is was a nice change to enjoy a communal style meal. While I realize this is not the norm at Blue Nile it is very customary in Ethiopia, and not all that common here in the US. The meal was enhanced by the exchange of personal stories and insights from strangers. For one who has to be with unfamiliar people all of the time for work, I tend to be very private in my personal life, however the meal was a good reminder of the value of getting to know new people in a social casual setting and how the experience of sharing food seems to open up the flow of communication and personal information creating a unique element to the meal. Having three styles of Watt was nice and allowed for a comparison and contrast in the flavors between chicken, beef, and lentil, however it would also have been nice to compare different cooking styles as well rather than all of them being stewing intensive. The Ethiopian flavor profiles were interesting and a little different than that of other more typical ethnic cuisines and I did appreciate the tasting the new flavors. Overall the meal, company, and wait staff made the meal enjoyable. Greg Burl

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  7. I am not the most adventurous eater, so this was definitely a new experience for me! I love to try new places to eat, but usually stick to the "norm" types of foods. When I showed my family the pictures of the foods we tried they were shocked I ate them! I actually enjoyed some of the foods we sampled though, as nothing tasted bad. The vegetable pastry appetizer was very good; especially with the spicy sauce! I felt like the chicken, beef and lentil dishes we tried all had a similar flavor to them, but the chicken seemed a little spicier. A staff member explained to us that these dishes were all cooked with the same bases, but then additional spices were added to give each one a little different flavor. The chicken was my favorite, because it was the most tender & spiciest. The injera bread was very interesting to look at, as it has a very spongy texture. I didn't really notice much flavor to it, but the texture was very noticeable. I wanted to taste the homemade Ethiopian honey wine, so the server brought me a sample. It was strong! You could smell the alcohol, but it also had a citrus smell. It reminded me of Japanese Sake. You could taste the honey, but it also seemed to have a lemon taste to it as well. It was served cold, but I think it might have been better if it were hot. Needless to say; I couldn't drink much of it! Overall, this was a fun experience and I would recommend people at least try it!
    S.Mundy

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  8. As this being my first time eating Ethiopian food. I must say that it was surprisingly good. from the appetizer to the main sampler dish was amazing. I was little scared at first, but the environment was very friendly and the waitress as very nice and educated us on everything that was being served and that helped a lot. This was the first time that I had fresh mango juice and that is to die for. I will most go back a second time.
    Jamie

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  9. I actually love trying new foods. Before starting Food & Culture at Avila, I had just returned from a 2 week trip in Cambodia where I tried a number of new dishes such as fish amok, fried noodles, and Tri-color fish. I didn't necessarily like everything I tried (though most of it was delicious), but I loved the experience of expanding my palate. As you might imagine, I was very excited to travel to the Blue Nile on Monday, especially since I had forgotten to eat dinner before class. Oops!
    That being said, I could hardly wait to chow down as soon as the waitress came by with the veggie Sambusa appetizers. I could have eaten a dozen of those and it wasn't just because I was hungry. They were very tasty. But alas, I was only afforded one. Oh well. even just the one put a smile on my face.
    After what seemed like... well a long time, the entrees finally arrived. The plate was covered in a thin layer of the Local Ethiopian bread called Injera. Of all the foods I tried, I was most surprised by the Injera. I knew it was a spongy type of bread as it was described in class, but I didn't expect the bread to be moist. Rather, I expected something a little more like pita bread. This didn't detract from the taste; however, and I rather enjoyed the Injera by itself and as a utensil to eat the other entrees. Atop the Injera was a central dish made of potatoes, Cabbage, and a third vegetable. This dish was a little sweeter than the other entree samplers. Surrounding this central dish was a sample of cooked chicken, lentils, cooked beef, and finally a dish of collard greens. I really liked the chicken, lentils, and the beef but I wish they were even spicier then they ended up tasting. They were all similar in flavor, since they were all seasoned with the same spices. The collard greens used different spices but were equally delicious. All in all, I really enjoyed the experience.

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