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| - It probably helped that we were pretty hungry when we pulled into Choolaah, and that we absolutely adore Indian cuisine and that this particular itch hadn't been scratched in quite some time, but we loved this place. Everything about Choolaah - the design, the layout, the food - has been polished to perfection. It's Indian food fast-casual style and it was simply brilliant.
Everyone else has said it so I guess I will too...this place really does have some sort of cool vibe to it. I know it's totally manufactured and I'm cool with it. It's open, bright light streaming in all over the place, incredibly clean and all interior designed out the wazoo. The kitchen is completely open, you can check out all the big ovens as they're making your food. Plenty of seating. I know it's the sort of place that should feel like fast food, but I actually wanted to linger.
Walk up to the counter, order your food, take a buzzer to your table and wait to be called up. Don't worry if you're not all that knowledgable about the menu. They're very friendly and willing to walk you through everything if you let them know it's your first time. Rice bowls, wraps, , an Indian type of pot-pie that uses naan as the crust, drinks like the yogurt smoothie of India called a lassi, beer, wine. The menu will have you stuck in indecision land. Just try something, don't be afraid.
We wanted to try everything, and it felt like we did. We both got our own BBQ bowls. I went with the chicken, brown rice, Tikki Masala sauce and wheat naan. My wife got the paneer cheese, brown rice, yellow lentil daal, and garlic naan. We also got the Choolah salad with tamarind ginger dressing and a side of pav bhaji (three sorta sweet rolls, buttered and flat-top grilled with a bowl of spicy potato soup and some onions and chili peppers for sprinkling). You get plenty of tasty sauces to experiment with - spicy mango, mint yogurt (this one packs some heat) - they've got 8 different sauces to choose from. Try them all, just be careful. If it has "fire" in the name, well, that's on you.
Everything tasted so fresh. The depth of flavor they've managed to accomplish with their deft use of spices and those tandoori ovens is simply amazing. My chicken was tender, juicy and perfectly charred. My wife's paneer cheese was soft, a bit chewy, and also had some nice char. A subtle smokiness pervades everything and it's awesome. Seriously, this stuff was so good I'm on the verge of drooling on my keyboard just thinking about it. Another great thing, you can get the complete nutritional info for everything on their menu. Surprisingly, it's all pretty healthy. You'd think something that tastes this good can't be good for you.
OK, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the handwash station out on wall. Yeah, it's a gimmick, but it is pretty fun. Just stick your hands in and water jets whirl around them, getting you all sparkly and germ free. I don't know how effective it is, but it did feel pretty strange and tickly. So I guess there's that.
There you have it. It's just really, really good Indian food in a - dare I say it - beautiful space that's served fresh, quickly and deliciously. I have a feeling it gets a bit crowded around lunchtime, given it's proximity to all of the businesses on Chagrin, so get there early and go often. Now, if we can just get them to open another location closer to downtown...
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