Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

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2027 E. Franklin Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55404

612-338-3000

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Recommended
BEST OPEN-MIC NIGHT
Award Winner 2006

Cuisine(s): Ethiopian, Fusion

Hours: Sun-Thu 4pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 4pm-11pm

Price: $$
Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, cash

Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout

Serving: Dinner
Alcohol: Full bar

Reservations: Accepted

Parking: Lot Available, Street

Description

Modern humans evolved in Ethiopia, but what did our distant ancestors eat? Possibly something like injera, a fermented flatbread made from one of the earliest cultivated grains, called teff. At the Blue Nile, a large restaurant that often has live music and dancing in the attached bar, a big injera arrives at your table bearing ladles of stew; raafuu, for instance, a kale-carrot blend, or maraka lukuu, chicken on the bone in a thick, rich tomato-laced butter sauce. Order a sampler platter, and you'll get most of the best items on the menu at minimal expense. Tear off sections of the injera and use them to scoop up the stews. As you tear and scoop your way through your meal, consider this: What would Lucy have made of Doritos?

5th Annual Rasta Wear Affair

May 27

with Lion Face, DJ Affgaad.
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2006 | BEST OPEN-MIC NIGHT

Is there a mic more open than that of the Poets' Groove at the Blue Nile With a 10:00 p.m. signup on Tuesdays, the night is more casual than the Southern Theater's Balls Cabaret on Saturdays (which requires prior arrangement by phone), and the spectacle is as unpredictable. For three years, spoken-word artist Desdamona has hosted the 18+ open-mic night with a house band featuring Kevin Washington on drums, Alicia Wiley on keys, and other jazz musicians, which might lead you to expect a vibe... More »
2001 | BEST EAST AFRICAN RESTAURANT

Since moving from its cramped Lyn-Lake home to more spacious new quarters on the West Bank, this beloved stalwart of the local restaurant scene has added a bar, a basement-level dance club, and a weird decorating scheme that suggests Tex-Mex by way of Addis Ababa. But what's best about the Blue Nile is what has stayed the same--namely, the food. The smartest way to sample the restaurant's cuisine is still one of the Gosa-Gosa platters--a reasonably priced (between $7 and $10 per person,... More »
2000 | BEST ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

The African-restaurant scene is finally, belatedly picking up steam: Over the past couple of years, small mom-and-pop operations have been springing up all over the Twin Cities, and some, like Cedar-Riverside's Addis Ababa, show real promise. Still, the Blue Nile, the granddaddy of them all, remains ruler of the roost. First among its many virtues is the injera: Here, the spongy flatbread made from a fermenting batter is always perfectly tender, chewy, and fresh, not cold and stale the way... More »

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Blue Nile: Happy hour of the week

By Michelle Leon | Fri, June 11, 2010

Blue Nile Restaurant 2027 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis 612.338.3000 website More »
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By Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl | Wed, February 04, 1998

Blue Nile 2027 E. Franklin Ave., Mpls.; 338-3000. I have seen the best minds of my generation sit hunched over like fetal weasels trudging through digital sludge, emerging with nothing but crooked spines, irrelevance, prurience, kitsch, and sta... More »

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JoshuaD1 | Minneapolis, MN | 6 Reviews

| Fri, February 20, 2009

grrreat taps

Main Menu

Appatizers

$5.75

Sambusa Fooni
crisp pastry shells stuffed with sautéed beef, onion, jalapeno and herbs.

$5.25

Baajiya
spiced garbanzo bean patties flavored with parsley and herbs, then fried in vegetable oil.

$8.25

Gosa Gosa
a sampler of sambusa fooni, sambusa missira, baajiya, shafut and our house salad.

$5.50

Sambusa Missiraa
crispy pastries stuffed with sauteed lentils, onion, jalapeno, garlic and herbs.

$4.95

Shafut
biddeena (ethiopian bread) soaked in east african spiced butter milk and chitney sauce (served cold).

$3.50

Soup Of The Day
ask your served about our homemade soup of the day.

Salads

$4.75

Salataa Manaa
a crisp, garden house salad topped with vegetables in an authentic house olive oil and lemon vinaigrette.

$6.75

Salataa Harar
harar salad garnished with colorful veggies, hard boiled egg, baajiya, potato, lettuce, beets and tahini, in a bed of shafut.

Entrees - Meat Entrees
Maraka (wate): A Meat Stew Entree, Made Distinctively By The Use Of Barbarre (ethiopian Spice Blend). Akaawii (tibse): A Lean Meat Sauteed With Our Own Blend Of Herbs, Prepared Either Mild, Medium Or Hot.

$10.25

Maraka Lukku
chicken marinated in spiced sauce and cooked with ethiopian spiced butter, onion, tomato, garlic and a touch of ginger. served in the traditional way with a boiled egg.

$10.95

Maraka Sangaa
tender beef simmered in baerbarre sauce and flavored with ginger root, garlic, and exotic ethiopian spices.

$10.50

Maraka Sangaa Hurdii
delectable chunks of beef and potato cubes simmered in a mild curry sauce.

$12.50

Maraka Hoolaa
delicious cubed lamb simmered in barbarre sauce; flavored with ginger root, garlic and other exotic spices.

$11.75

Lukku Akaawii
flavored cubed chicken, sauteed with onion, tomato, cilantro and our blend of spices.

$12.25

Sangaa Akaawii
tender cubed beef sautéed in our special blend of spices, with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic and a touch of ginger.

$15.95

Kataffii
ethiopian style steak tartar, seasoned to a rich flavor, with blue nile’s spices, spiced butter and mit’mit’a, served lightly cooked or well done.

$13.75

Hoolaa Akaawii
tender lamb pieces marinated in a rich blend of spices, and delicately sautéed with onions, tomatoes and cilantro.

Entrees - Vegetarian Entrees
From Dish Okaa Items Are Served With Biddenna And One Side Dish

$9.95

Kurumbaa
shredded cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onions perfectly blended in a mildly spicy vegetable broth.

$9.50

Fasuuliya
hearty green beans, carrots, onions and garlic cooked in a mild sauce, and lightly flavored with ethiopian spiced butter.

$10.75

Raafuu
a health blend of kale, carrots, onion and potatoes cooked to perfection with an exotic east african of spices.

$7.25

Okaa
ground chickpea roasted with barbarre sauce, onions, ginger and tomatoes.

$8.75

Foule
fava beans sauteed with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, ginger and a blend of spices.

$8.75

Missiraa Gurracha
tasty dark lentils cooked with onions, garlic, jalapenos and our house sauce.

$10.25

Missiraa Diimaa
spicy red lentils cooked with barbarre, onions, and garlic.

$8.75

Kikkii
delicately mild yellow split peas cooked with onions, jalapenos, garlic and a blend of spices.

Entrees - House Specials
Entrees Below Are Accompanied With Basmati Rice.

$10.75

Ruuza Ifi Daqqaa
ground beef sauteed in a blend of tasty spices and slowly cooked with a rich thick sauce.

$10.75

Ruuza Ifi Kudraa
a sauteed blend of assorted vegetables in an ethiopian spiced butter and our blend of spices.

$12.95

Lukku Ifi Kudraa
chicken cooked with assorted vegetables in a blend of african herbs.

$15.95

Haniida
a savory lamb shoulder marinated and grilled in our special blend of spices accompanied with rich ground beef sauce, and a side of atriya (vermicelli delicately browned and sweetened with spices and honey).

$15.95

Qurxummii
tender shrimp and assorted vegetables lightly sauteed in a blend of our house seasonings and ethiopian butter.

Entrees - Combanation Samplers

$13.95

Gosa Gosa A
a delightful combination sampler of the blue nile’s vegetarian entrees (excluding the raafuu and fasuuliya). serving size: one person.

$14.50

Gosa Gosa B
a sampler tray of your choice of three entrees from the vegetarian and maraka dishes. serving size: one person.

$22.50

Gosa Gosa C
a sampler platter of all of the maraka dishes (ethiopian style stew dishes) and all of the vegetarian entrees in gosa gosa a. serving size: two people.

Entrees - Tast Of The Middle East
Entrees Below Are Served With Fries And Salad.

$12.25

Chicken Combo
fire grilled chicken breast cubes with onions, tomatoes and bell peppers.

$11.25

Shawarma Combo
a mixture of beef and lamb strips with spices, marinated greek spices in greek style.

$12.25

Blue Nile Combo
a sampler platter of shawarma, hummus, babaganoush and pita bread.

$13.95

Shish Kabab Combo
fire grilled cubes of lamb meat with onions, tomatoes and bell peppers.

Desserts

$4.50

Brownie Supreme
a moist, warm brownie covered in chocolate ice cream and garnished with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and nuts.

$3.95

Bread Pudding
an unforgettable ethiopian version of bread pudding. a must for all bread pudding lovers.

$2.25

Kurayba
a delicious cardamom cookie.

$3.75

Pecan Carmel Sundae
ice cream covered with caramel, pecans, and whipped cream.

$3.50

Baklava
a delicious phyllo dough crust filled with cashews, lemony syrup, and a taste of blue nile spices.

$3.95

Carrot Cake
the best carrot cake in town, topped with honey cream sauce.

Looking for another city?

Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

2027 E. Franklin Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55404

612-338-3000

Description

5th Annual Rasta Wear Affair

May 27

The Poet's Groove

10:00 p.m. every Tue.

Les Exodus

10:30 p.m. every Thu.

2006 | BEST OPEN-MIC NIGHT

2001 | BEST EAST AFRICAN RESTAURANT

2000 | BEST ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

Harriet Brewing One Year Anniversary Bash

By Michelle Leon | Wed, January 25, 2012

The F Plus

By Jessica Armbruster | Wed, September 28, 2011

Blue Nile: Happy hour of the week

By Michelle Leon | Fri, June 11, 2010

A Cure for the Twentieth Century

By Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl | Wed, February 04, 1998

JoshuaD1 | Minneapolis, MN | 6 Reviews

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