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| - One of my Madison-area friends has been on an Indian food kick ever since I suggested my Milwaukee go-to, Royal India. I'd never had Indian in Madison before, but Yelp has only rarely steered me wrong, so I trusted the judgment of the locals and my friend, my new girlfriend (who was with me on a day-trip to Madtown), and I settled on Maharani, right downtown.
Indian restaurants seem to either be very formal or extremely casual. I can't speak for the place during their buffet (which, just looking at the size of it as they were cleaning up, looks formidable), but at least during our visit they seemed to err towards the formal side. That was definitely my first impression, so be prepared.
Waitstaff was polite, but distant. No points gained or lost there. Just standard operating procedure.
I ordered the goat curry, served spicy and bone-in. I figured something more basic would give me a gauge to work from if and when I return. I can definitely recommend the dish; it's very flavorful and the goat is tender and despite being covered in a really flavorful sauce, retains a little bit of that rich, slightly gamey flavor that the meat is known for.
My dining partners had the lamb curry (hot, just like mine) and chicken curry (ordered mild), which I sampled. Of the two, I definitely preferred the lamb--although that may have been due to spice level--but the chicken curry would be a good introduction to Indian food.
As I mentioned before, I don't have much to compare Maharani to in terms of Madison's Indian food scene, but I certainly didn't have any major complaints here. I'd love to return for the buffet.
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