BLUE NILE 1
RESTAURANT

Blue Nile - Ann Arbor & Ferndale Locations. Mr. Seifu Lessanework, owner

At the Blue Nile, you get only two all-you-can-eat choices: four meats and seven vegetables for $17.90, or all veg for $14.90 (kids are half price).

Chicken, lamb, beef, collards, cabbage, and several varieties of split peas and lentils are arranged on a large shared round of flat, spongy bread, called injera (that's the tablecloth). Diners use small pieces of injera to scoop up the food, and the juices soak into the under-injera so that the last part of the meal is the tastiest. >>more

Metro Times Detroit
Hands-on cuisine - By Jane Slaughter

'' Apparently there are still folks around who haven't tried Ethiopian cooking yet, because Seifu Lessanework, owner of Detroit's first Ethiopian restaurant, says some of his customers bring in their friends in order to show off. Those are not his words, of course; Lessanework, who is nothing if not gracious, says customers bring people "to surprise them, to show them a unique place - something someone had never eaten. They can be a connoisseur...

For those unfamiliar with Ethiopian dining, a big part of the draw is that you get to eat with your hands (steaming washcloths are tendered before and after) and then eat the tablecloth.

As if eating with your hands weren't fun enough, the food is delectable and unusual. Colors are bright: a mound of dark green collards, a puree of red lentils, bright yellow split peas and a paler cabbage (my favorite) sautéed with jalapeño.

Lessanework left Greektown partly because of the parking problem; but now he's found a lot, so in September he'll inaugurate a new Blue Nile, at Gratiot and Brush. His location in Ann Arbor opened in 1989..." >>more

'' Dining at this ethnic joint is truly an adventure. From the elaborate and brightly colored African woodcarvings to the pleasant aroma of unique spices emanating from the kitchen, be prepared for a one-of-a-kind experience. Diners can choose between traditional booths or low wooden chairs that are much more comfortable than they look. Trust and unity is a theme in the Ethiopian culture and meals served on platters and shared by the entire dinging party further emphasize this..." >>more

The Detroit News
Blue Nile owner doesn't forget his 'Windows' roots - by Molly Abraham

"Seifu Lessanework left his job at New York's Windows on the World in 1982 to come to Detroit and open his own restaurant. Two years later, the first Blue Nile, dedicated to the fare of his native Ethiopia, debuted in a Woodward Avenue storefront and then quickly relocated to a more glamorous setting in Trappers Alley in Greektown.

Lessanework never forgot the restaurant on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center, nor the people he knew there. Many Ethiopians were on the international staff then, and it was still true when tragedy struck on Sept. 11 of last year.

He explained that Sept. 11 is also Ethiopia's New Year's Day, and so most of his countrymen and women were spared because they had taken the holiday off. That strange twist of fate resulted in only three Ethiopians being lost that day.

  This new Blue Nile boasts carved wooden chairs, just 18 inches off the floor, pulled up to tables topped with colorful baskets woven of straw and leather.

The design of the chairs dates back to the 15th century. Another ancient motif is the face of an Ethiopian angel in the patterned fabric under the glass tops of smaller cocktail tables. Some of the carved mahogany woodwork, the ornate front door decorated with Amharic characters (the language of Ethiopia) ..." >>more