THE NILE
RESTAURANT

New Owners

former the location of bars like Hole in the Wall and Holy Chow.

Ethiopian cuisine is like its people:  diverse, colorful, flavorful, and complex.  It is a fusion of delicious and exotic meals from the different regions and ethnic groups, reflecting the country's long history of independence and rich diversity. It is nourishing and delicious, and gives one a very distinct and unforgettable dining experience. Traditionally, Ethiopian food is served on a big platter or basket with the injera (a flat sour dough crepe) as a base and the various sauces and vegetable dishes scooped out on it in a very colorful way.  Additional injera would be served on the side. People would normally eat communally from the same plate.  You would tear a piece of injera, and using the fingers scoop the sauce, wrap it and enjoy. 

The most important aspect of Ethiopian cooking is preparing the basic ingredients that bring any vegetarian or meat dish alive with bursting flavor, aroma and delectable taste.  There are two basic types stews 'wat' and 'alicha' representing two distinct levels of spiciness. Other dishes include sautéed, baked, boiled, fermented, bean paste, or bean salad, roasted grains and beans (mainly used as snacks) to mention just a few. 

In Ethiopia, traditional cooking utensils (from coffee pots to huge brassier type pots),  are made of clay. Such utensils enhance the flavor of the food as well as make it more natural and healthy. Bread is also baked not in an oven but in a big clay baking pan where the dough will be covered in layers of banana leaves, covered with a huge iron skillet, sealed around with mud and baked using wood fire in the bottom and on the top cover. - from www.nilerichmond.com

Taste of the Nile
The Nile Ethiopian Restaurant and Café does not disappoint - by Juda Rivers
Richomnd.com

'' We began with the Yesmiser Samusa ($4.50), a baked pastry stuffed with spiced ground lentils, much like a Cuban empanada, somewhat bland compared to the explosion of flavor that was to come. On this first trip, we had to try the traditional Kinche ($4.50) - a subtle cracked wheat cooked with Niter Kibbeh, a butter flavored with onions, garlic, ginger and spices. This staple is eaten for breakfast and snacks in Ethiopian homes. Not wowing me, I stopped after a few bits to save room.

Lovers of variety, we opted for two of the Nile special combination platters, one vegetarian and the other full of carnivorous delights, giving choices of four dishes ($14.50 for one person, $10.50 for each additional person). All entrees at Nile are served in the traditional Ethiopian way: on a platter lined with injera, a thin, spongy sourdough bread, made from fermenting the Ethiopian highland grain teff, one of the smallest grains available. Our combination dinners came on one large oblong platter, our choices scooped around the periphery, creating two fragrant culinary rainbows for our taking.

Thankfully, our waitress brought another plate of injera. Taking a generous piece of injera in my hand, I grabbed some of the wat (a generic Ethiopian term for stew) and savored the mixture of green lentils and spices. That's right - the injera is used as the utensil. I must admit, there was something so earthy, so visceral about eating with my hands that it almost made the flavors come more alive. By the way, don't let wat or "stew" scare you. Wat is a traditional way Ethiopians prepare their meals, whether or not it's vegetarian, creating a tantalizing infusion of flavors and sauce in every bite.

Everything we sampled was fabulous. My non-lamb eating husband even devoured the Yebeg Alicha Wat, cubed lamb cooked in onion, ginger and green pepper stewed in a savory sauce. The Doro Wat was an interesting blend of flavors and textures, chicken cooked with butter sautéed onions, garlic, ginger, berbere and herbs then mixed with hardboiled eggs stewed in an aromatic and delicately spiced sauce creating a savory mix ..." >>more