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| - We stopped by Madras Ananda Bhavan about a month ago when we were at the Harbor Freight Tools in the same shopping center craving something for lunch. We were pretty close to home but as we neared the parking exit on the 32nd Street side of the shopping center, we eyed this restaurant. We decided to pull over and check it out. There was a lunch buffet going on but neither of us were that hungry. They were not serving off of the menu but we asked if we could just get an order of samosas to go. The manager told us he would check with the chef and when he came back he said they could do it no problem. We thought this was nice and it convinced us to come back for dinner that following weekend.
I think it was a Saturday around 6ish. When we arrived, there were about 2 or 3 other groups of people, predominately Indian (a good sign) already enjoying their meal. As we sat down, we were greeted by the manager and another host. Both were friendly and recognized us from earlier in the week. The place smelled amazing and I couldn't wait to order.
We noticed that the restaurant began to fill up and before we knew it, the entire right hand side of the restaurant was full of families coming in for a traditional, south Indian meal.
We ordered Samosas, Aloo Mutter, Saag Paneer, Dal Makhni and naan. Our samosas were flavorful and served with both tamarind and mint chutneys. Our entrees were served shortly there after and were excellent. There were a few more "pods" (cardamom, cumin) than I prefer but I know that it adds to the flavor, so I was more careful to look before each bite and pick out some of the chili's and seed pods before I took a bite. All in all, everything was absolutely delicious!
Oh! Madras is all vegetarian and alcohol free, so no cocktails or meaty bits here. We didn't let that dissuade us and honestly, the food here is so flavorful, you don't even miss it. Needless to say, we did stop off for a bottle of Pinot on the way home and enjoyed the rest of our evening in.
Two thumbs up!
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