| rev:text
| - Lamb Curry- 5 stars (dinner)
Naan- 5 stars
Dal curry- 4 (buffet)
Chana Saag- 4 (buffet)
Chicken Korma- 3 stars (buffet)
Chicken Tikka Masala- 1 (buffet)
Ambience- 3.5 stars
Service- 4 stars
Ok, heres my "live blog" review:
Well, the interior space at the first street locale is certainly not the "lavishly Indian-decorated" space at the top of their website. Perhaps that is the campus location that looks that way? But i thought the first st. location was supposed to be the fine dining one? Maybe that dining room is in the back? I can't imagine a restaurant would use an image that is not their actual space at the top of their homepage. It sure lured me in. Anyhow, as I sit here waiting for my lamb curry and basic naan (in silence as there's no music playing whatsoever contributing to the growing lack luster ambiance), I'm hoping it lives up to the $16 price tag (w/naan). Some ice cubes in my water would be nice. Certainly so since its just barely colder than room temperature.
Okay, the waiter just brought my food. Wow that's a pretty small bowl of lamb curry. I may have to hit a fast food joint on the way home. Here we go.
Well...that bowl is deeper than it looks judging by the fact that i spilled some over the edge of my smallish plate. Ok...putting down my fork long enough to type that this is a damn good lamb curry. DAMN GOOD! I'm glad I specified I wanted it medium hot. The heat is perfect. Any hotter would've been too hot. Any less so and it would've been lacking. The aromatic spicing is really really good. The lamb is good too. Decently tender (fwiw, I've never had a lamb dish where every single piece was perfectly tender but this is close). And there are plenty of pieces. I was really worried when I saw that bowl but the portion was quite generous.
--(Just heard the table across the room say to the waiter that their daughter is extremely allergic to nuts...seriously? And you're here with her? You're gonna trust that an errant cashew doesn't fall into the the pan while her dish is prepared? Really? But I digress...)-
The naan is good. Hot and fresh. A smear of butter or ghee or whatever it is that some of my favorite places sometimes use would've been nice.
Should mention the basmati rice. Very good and very fresh tasting. Of course I'm herd right as dinner service started up so that's to be expected.
Ok...Kheer here we go. Good kheer. Better than many, not as good as my favorite kheer at an otherwise mediocre indian place downstate. But none are.
In summary, I'd say the food was very very good and priced about right for the quality. Since you can't really enjoy Indian without naan you pretty much have to add three bucks to whatever entree you're looking at. But thats most Indian restaurants nowadays. If the naan was included or if the ambiance was better I'd have no qualms giving this place five stars. Maybe the CD player is broken, but some Indian music in the background would help tremendously. And ice cubes in the water and icey refills.... Small stuff, but for $18 bucks plus tip after I ordered my kheer, that stuff matters.
Will definitely come back next time I'm in town. And will try the buffet. Maybe as soon as tomorrow!!
***UPDATE- went to the buffet the today...the naan brought to my table was excellent. Much better than last nights. Had the butter or ghee on it. Tasted very much "fresh out of the oven" unlike the naan at last nights dinner. Consistency is key! Strange that it would be less fresh at the dinner service. Granted i was there right at open...but good grief, open at five thirty if its the difference in getting fresh baked naan and something reheated.
As for the rest of the buffet, it was good. Everything was hot and fresh. The saag was good as was the dal. The chicken korma so so. Not nearly as aromatic as some of the better kormas I've had. Lacking in other ingredients too...seemed like just chunks of chicken and a cream sauce. It looked and tasted more like the "average" tikka masala than the kormas I am used to. The tikka masala was less than average for me. Even though I typically am not a tikka masala fan I have had dishes that I've liked a lot. This literally looked and tasted like they used heavy doses of ketchup and red food coloring in its preparation. If that's what you're used to for tikka masalas than by all means order it.
But again, I have to stress how incredibly excellent the lamb curry was. Strange that the korma and tikka would be so lack luster.
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