Blue Nile

Ethiopian cuisine is an aromatic offering, brimming with bold, fragrant flavors and spices. The melody of cloves, ginger and coriander creates a lovely rhyme in the traditional Ethiopian vegetarian dishes that Blue Nile recreates with finesse. The menu is dominated by vegetarian fare, but you’ll also find chicken wot, shrimp wot and beef wot. What is wot, you ask? Wot is the equivalent of Indian curry, meaning sauce. Forgo forks and knives here. Everything is eaten by hand with injera – the frilly, yeasty pancake-like bread that serves as food, utensil and plate.

Berbere may be a hot, new trend among many talented chefs in the United States, but it's been a cornerstone of Ethiopian cooking for centuries. It’s a hot-pepper spice blend that varies from family to family and region to region. It usually contains chiles, cumin, allspice, black pepper, fenugreek, turmeric and cardamom.