1788 Madison Avenue
(901) 474-7214
On Saturday, the monkeys (Satchel, 13, and Jiro, 11) and I decided to try out the new Ethiopian restaurant on Madison, Blue Nile. I'd been trying to get there for a few weeks and was surprised by what an easy sell it was to the monkeys. Satchel loves njera and when he reminded Jiro of what it is ("that yummy spongy bread"), he quickly got on board. When I mentioned that the owner was the same as the Stick 'em food truck, well, we couldn't get there fast enough.
Jiro was super sleepy from a "sleep"over the night before and was begging for a Coke, so it was kind of funny when we saw the temporary (?) sign out front.
Inside, it was cool and dark, with fans blowing. I loved the curtains over the windows. It felt a little like we were in a restaurant in Ethiopia. (Not that I've ever been in one, but it felt authentic.)
The kids insisted on sitting so they could see the beautiful mural. They played a game where they tried to find differences between the two lions.
Ok, so what about the food? The menu is awesome. It's very clear and has a lot of variety, without being overwhelming.
Our waitress mentioned that they had recently added a burger and that it was awesome. I thought Jiro might go for that, but he really wanted kabobs. Satchel ordered doro wat with chicken. I asked super nicely if they'd let me have the snapper, which is apparently only on the dinner menu. Our waitress said Ermyias, the owner, was in the kitchen, so she confirmed with him and I was good to go. Yay! I asked to look at the dinner menu while we waited and it looked pretty similar to lunch, but with the addition of the snapper, a beef jerky appetizer and a couple of desserts. After looking it over, I added a beet salad to our order. I love beets.
The food came out really quickly and looked delicious. This is Satchel's kind of meal!
Jiro was very pleased with his kabobs too. They were very similar to what is sold on the food truck, but look even prettier on a plate with rice.
And I was thrilled with the snapper. It was perfect.
And the beet salad did not disappoint. There were a few peppers hiding in there so it had a nice kick.
The food, the atmosphere, the service--everything was great. None of us could come up with a single complaint! Our lunch was $49 plus tip, but we ordered big. We will definitely be back! Y'all go try it.
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