It's located in the corner of a strip mall, a very unassuming place. If you didn't know what you were looking for, you would never find it. When I arrived, Shawn said he realized he had actually been there once before and liked it. But he had also gone there right before a workout, so he wasn't really adventurous. Probably a smart thing right before hitting the gym.
The restaurant is very warm and inviting, with beautiful artwork on the walls. All of the staff are Indian, and a few have pretty strong accents. I'm guessing it's a family owned and run restaurant. They do buffet for lunch, and then a regular meal for dinner.
It's kind of weird because there's a main glass door to enter the building, and then 2 doors into the restaurant. Go straight, and that leads up up a little ramp to where the buffet is. Enter the door on the right, and that leads you to a small waiting area to be seated in the main dining room. But you can go in either door, and it's an open walk either way. The "buffet room" seats about 50, and it was about half full when we arrived. To the right of there are another 10 or so tables for buffet overflow. The main dining room is on the same level as when you walk into the restaurant, so if you're going there from the buffet you walk down a couple of steps. It's got several large family-style tables, as well as regular tables. And a very large bar that takes up almost the entire right wall of the restaurant.
I really like buffets, because you can pick and choose what you want, eat as much or as little of each thing as you want, and you can try a lot of different things. I could never go to a buffet with Mary because she hated them. Refused to go. The buffet here isn't that large, but they pack a lot in there. It's in an L shape, and one side is the salad bar and sauces, and the other side is entrees. There's also a small table on the far wall with desserts.
I started with salad.
The salad was cold, crisp and delicious. The big bowl on the buffet had lettuce, tomato and cucumber. I put what I thought was ranch, then realized it was yogurt sauce. But I liked the yogurt sauce a lot better. It was delicious. The black-eyed-pea salad was very tasty, and served cold. The onions were really flavorful. I asked, and they said they were marinated in tumeric and vinegar. The marinade completely eliminated the bite of the raw onion. I planned to go back for more, but forgot.
Next, the entrees.
 |
| Tandoor chicken, creamed spinach, black lentils, veggie fritters, naan bread |
And then the second plate
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| Curry chicken, white rice, chicken biryani, beef meatballs, more black lentils and more fritters |
The only items I did not try were the curried vegetables and tomato soup. Again, tomato soup seems like kind of an odd item on an Indian menu.
Shawn got dessert. Mango pudding and rice pudding
Neither one had much flavor. I said to Shawn that maybe they were more to cleanse the palate than actually a flavorful desert. Because after all the spice and flavor of the entrees, you need something cool and a little plain to end the meal. The rice pudding was a little sweeter than the mango.
Will I go back? No question. The food was excellent, the service was prompt and efficient, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I was standing in the foyer taking notes before I left, and the manager walked by and made sure I was okay. I told him yes, and also told him how much I enjoyed our meal. I'll most certainly be back. And, as expected, Bryan hit another home run with his recommendation.
