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| - My wife and I have what we call good "food-dar". If we hate the look of a place, we usually avoid it, and the accompanying bad experiences. Date Night at the old Bombay Spice was a tradition with their healthy menu, great atmosphere and excellent wines. We tried out the new location with the expectation that we would be happy. What a terrible disappointment.
This review really breaks down into two categories: what we think about the establishment as it is now, and how it compares to the old place (which was a solid 4-5 star rating).
We walked in and were greeted by Ray, the head cook from the old Spice. He has real skills, so we gave him a chance. But alarm bells were going off. The sauces had brown deposits around their edges in the warmer. The meats had been there for a while. We ordered masala with chicken, chickpea ceviche and some samosas. Another guy was there, but not really helping. Just standing around. Ray explained that this was a "Chipotle-style" program now. My immediate thought was that it was an affront to Chipotle to even compare. Maybe theoretically. "Chipotle-esque", perhaps. Our food was slopped into some pretty nice take-out containers (we kept them, as they are washable), and we headed for the table. The masala was awful. If that sauce is not out of a can, then they should move up to canned sauce. The rice and quinoa were dry. The chicken was grainy and flaccid. The samosas were starchy, spice-less and pulpy. The chickpea ceviche had all the flavor of canned chickpeas. No tamarind sauce was present. We doctored up the masala with hot sauce to make it edible and took a few bites. I looked at Val. She glanced at the door. Ray smiled at us. We were trapped. Please understand that if you give that chef good ingredients, he is a magician. But if you cut your ingredient costs to the bone and buy garbage, that is what you will serve. Pre-make everything, and it slips further downhill. The veggies were clearly a heavily spiced food-service Vegetable Medley. Is anyone in the Paradise Valley area looking for a talented chef? Save him from this hell. Please. And let all the former Spice customers know so we can come to your place.
I said I would compare this to the old Bombay Spice. But it's not worth it. They are not at all the same thing. There is no atmosphere. No wine bar. No lovely, caring servers. But it costs pretty much the same. Not. Awesome. It is like running into your high school girlfriend, the one who was the love of your young life, and she is a toothless meth addict trying to get a stolen ATM onto her bicycle. That's how much I hurt for you, Bombay Spice. Tough love time. You have gone from being my favorite Indian place to the single worst Indian food I have ever eaten. I have heaved out my guts in a hotel bathroom after eating better Indian food than this. So I am cutting you off. Don't call me. Don't email. I loved you so much that I can't see you like this. Maybe some day I will see golden light pouring out of your windows and happy customers sitting at the bar, drinking great wine and eating fantastic food. And I'll come in. Maybe we will be friends again, but it will never be what it was. Goodbye.
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