Blue Nile

Dining Ethiopian style is the premise at Seifu Lessanework's attractive restaurant where diners may sit on low, carved wood chairs pulled up to tables topped with baskets woven of straw and leather to enjoy the two menu choices: an array of meat and vegetable dishes atop injera, the spongy bread which serves as platter and utensil, or a vegetarian selection, also on injera. Diners tear off pieces of the bread to dip into the roasted yellow split peas, pureed red lentils, lamb cooked in herbed butter, and other stewlike dishes in the Ethiopian repertoire. Spicing ranges from gentle to moderately hot. There is also conventional seating for those who prefer it. An interesting and exotic spot on the street that has truly become a restaurant row.

- Molly Abraham