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| - I have a higher tolerance than most people for dingy, even dirty Indian joints. I lived in India years ago, and all but the five star places (which I could not afford) were dingy and dirty, so the rule I began then and continue to follow to this day is just this: ignore almost everything, the place, the table, the floor, the server. But do not ignore the temperature: the food must be piping hot to burn off all the nastiness from the aforementioned everything else.
I haven't been to the Flame in a long time, maybe a decade. At that time it was new, and I came away with what must have been a mostly favorable impression because it was that impression that led me to search for the Indian buffet in close proximity to University Hospital.
Today we went there and I was damn glad I didn't bring my natal family, which I have coaxed into eating - even liking - Indian food. But this place would have laid waste to all of the progress I have made in that arena. The restaurant just looks extremely dirty - the walls are textured and dust has built up on the texture. Plus, the tables have been pushed against the wall in many places, scraping away paint. The other tables are kind of haphazardly placed, and everything just feels dirty, disorganized, not maintained.
The food was passable - a buffet, so flaming hot is generally impossible to maintain - but many items were picked over (tandoori chicken) or low on the main draw (not much chicken in the curry chicken) or polluted by adjacent things (chutney in the kheer).
And the only restaurant staff visible was a young woman who never smiled at or exchanged a single word with us (even when we came in) and therefore never gave me a chance to bust out my Hindi....secondary concern, I know, but still.
I came back after a decade, and I discriminate damn hard in favor of Punjabis. But sadly I think the chances that we try this place again are close to zero.
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