Blue Nile: New Ethiopian on Ridge & Hood (Granville)

I just noticed a new Ethiopian joint in the small strip mall on Ridge south of Granville, just north of where Ridge goes under the Metra tracks. I believe its called "Les Nile"--has anyone checked this out?

Driving up Ridge last night, probably around 6200 North, I noticed a new Ethiopian place called Blue Nile, which I hadn't seen before. Anyone know anything about it? Has anyone been there?

I had been meaning to check out Blue Nile for a couple of weeks now and I finally made it up there tonight.

I'm kind of new to Ethiopian so I'm no expert on authenticity nor do I have a lot of past experience to compare them to but I really enjoyed my meal there. I very rarely eat meat and there were two veggie options on the menu, a vegetarian combo and shimber asa. They were out of shimber asa so that left me with the combo.

The combo came with misser wat (lentils in berbere sauce), gomen (collard greens), and an amazing rendition of shirro wat. The shirro wat was the best Ethiopian dish I've ever had. Later the owner and/or chef stopped by my table to apologize for the lack of variety. They had just hosted an open house a few days before and they hadn't been able to restock. Not a problem for me - she had to double up on the wonderful shirro way!

The service was very friendly and the chef making the rounds was a nice homey touch. They're still a little new at this so don't expect really polished service but I'm sure this will change for the better as they find their way.

They're BYOB and a PK's Pantry is in the same strip mall for beer and wine. Keep in mind that they don't sell singles though so unless you want a six-pack buy your beer from elsewhere.

*Highly Recommended*

Blue Nile
6120 N Ravenswood (at Ridge)
773-465-6710

I spent some time geographically close to a large East African population when I was living in Washington, DC for a few years. I regret that I never came to appreciate their cuisine while I was in their midst. Perhaps it was my naive perception of Ethiopian dining as a group experience that kept me, often a solo-diner, away. The one or two times I went for Ethiopian, it left me pleased but certainly not clamoring for more.

These mild memories have kept Ethiopian dining on the back-burner for me in Chicago. Last night I had the benefit of moving it to the front while dining with another LTHer at Blue Nile.



Behind the neon, Blue Nile is a modest storefront that gets its cheer and charm from the friendly waitstaff and the constant stream of African friends and families that fill the tables.

We chose two menu items for our dinner: yedoro tibs wot (chicken chunks in a tomato-based sauce), and gudegna yebeg goden (lamb ribs and cubed lamb breast with chili peppers and onions). These are served with lentils, cabbage, salad, potatoes & carrots, and plenty of injera.



I was most pleased with the lamb dish. The ribs were a dream for people who love to gnaw: crispy bits, soft fat, and pleasantly chewy meat. The cubed meat had that same chew, but was cut small enough to turn what might be an tough cut into a very enjoyable one. The balance of heat from the chilis was perfect.

The chicken dish was a little less exciting when it came to the meat (cubed chicken breast), but the flavor profile of the sauce was addictive--spicy and rich without being overpowering or oily. Potatoes and cabbage provided a good temperature and texture respite.

Flavorful food, reasonably priced, BYOB, friendly, parking out front: What's not to like? I'll be back for those lamb ribs.

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:Flavorful food, reasonably priced, BYOB, friendly, parking out front: What's not to like? I'll be back for those lamb ribs.

I recently visited Blue Nile for the first time with several friends, one of whom, Pisu, is Ethiopian. Of course we let Pisu do the ordering, but I did ask her to include the same lamb ribs that you mentioned. She was skeptical at first, but they turned out to be one of her (and my) favourite dishes too.

E.M.

eatchicago wrote:Last night I had the benefit of moving it to the front while dining with another LTHer at Blue Nile.

As the wearer of the blue shirt barely visible behind the platter in EC's photo above, I thought I'd offer a few thoughts.

I've been wanting to try Blue Nile since reading the very favorable review in the Reader, but a lot of my regular dining companions prefer to go to places they already love instead of trying a new one. Alas, we didn't order any of the things with the whole garlic cloves, but I was still pleased with the food.

The menu is modest (not much more than a dozen items) and meat-heavy. I think there may have been one veggie combo on there somewhere. However, the "house specialties" section lists a few things that I haven't seen very often on any Ethiopian menus, like the lamb ribs, and a beef dish that also mentioned ribs (and I think was the one served on a sizzling platter to another table.) I didn't bring the menu with me to work, but I think the yedoro tibs wot^* (often listed as "doro tibs watt" on other menus) was the only "familiar" specialty. (They had other common ethiopian dishes, like kitfo and doro watt; I'm just mentioning the specialties here.)

The flavor of everything was good, but some of the preparation left a little to be desired. The chicken was a little overcooked, and everything was on the oily side (including, to my taste, but contrary to EC's note, the yedoro tibs wot). But the lamb was very good, especially the bits still on the rib, and I quite liked the yemisir watt (lentils), with a mysterious herbal note to the sauce that may have been oregano(?). There were jalapeño halves scattered amidst the vegetables served with the lamb which was a nice touch, and the wot sauce had a decent kick to it as well.

When we first arrived, there were only a couple of tables filled, and no one seemed to be eating (maybe plates had already been cleared, but maybe just hanging out). We sat for a while, and then went looking to see if we were on the wrong side of the restaurant or something. This was at 7 pm, but I guess they just weren't really expecting people so soon. Once they "made contact with us," though, service was fine, and very friendly. Business definitely picked up while we were there, but it was never really busy.

^* I will now have the Captain Sensible tune "Wot?" running through my head for the rest of the day.

REB, RAB, Teresa and I decided to check out Blue Nile the other night. Not being the Ethiopian connoisseurs that Rich and Ronna are, hopefully one of them will chime in with more detail.

To put it simply I think this place shows a lot of promise and deserves, at the very least, a board bump (last post was in 2006!).

All of the meat dishes we tried were excellent. The Kitfo (ordered raw) was an impressive first bite, fresh, not boring or bland at all. The lamb ribs, unique and exciting, as mentioned up-thread, worth returning for. The veggie dishes for the most part, were light and moderately spiced.

I look forward to a return trip to try more dishes!

My wife and I were also lucky recipients of RAB and REB's culinary intel. They took us to the Blue Nile a few weeks ago for an outstanding meal. I don't remember everything we had, but did try the kitfo (raw), the lamb ribs, a variety of vegetable dishes, and a few other things. I suspect that just about everything on the menu is very good and so we're looking forward to a return visit. I've been thinking of pretending my car ran out of gas in front of the restaurant, just to have an excuse to go in and get a whiff of the aromas in there.

Wondering if this is the same owner as the two "Blue Nile" Ethiopian restaurants in Michigan (Ann Arbor + Ferndale). I've been to both and they are both quite good. I'll have to try this location soon!