2008 Woodie Awards
Bring Me a Torch! I'm Going to Eat!
A good place for good food!
Lance Park
Issue date: 2/7/07 Section: Entertainment
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On this particular Friday, my two co-workers and I swung by after a trip to Berkeley, and once inside we waited around three minutes for a table.
The place isn't very large and it was pretty packed. Still, the waiting area had excellent sofas that were very comfortable; like that old sofa you sit on at your grandmother's that makes you sleepy. The perk of this area is that it's near the kitchen, so as you sit and wait the aroma's waft in and stimulate your hunger more.
Once we were seated, they served these complementary snacks made from lentil wafers with four types of dipping sauce, two of which were sweet while the others were spicy.
The menus were given, water glasses were filled and we started to order; a hard process considering the variety of dishes they carried. So we started with three appetizers: two samosa dishes and veggie pakora.
The samosa is a turnover stuffed with mashed potatoes, English peas and roasted coriander seed that give it a little spicy kick (but not too harsh for the average guy). It's very tasty and they serve you three the size of a golf ball, so it's a hell of an appetizer.
The veggie pakora is vegetable fritters deep fried in chickpea batter and reminded me of fried zucchini sticks. Though these were a little bland compared to the samosa, there was more of it served.
We finished our appetizers and ordered the main courses. I took a moment to order a favorite drink, mango lassi. It's a cold drink made from churned yogurt and fresh mango, and it's freaking awesome, especially at $1.50 per glass.
It's meant to be sipped throughout the meal to cleanse the pallet, and it works very well; if you find one of their dishes too spicy, take a quick sip and it kills the burning in your mouth fast.
We waited about 10 minutes for our meal, and as we did we talked and enjoyed the atmosphere. It's very cozy due to the size and the ambient lighting, and though you might find the distinctly Indian music playing very different and maybe even unpleasant, it's not loud enough to drown out dinner conversation. In fact, we were lucky enough to catch a view of one of the waiters at another table down from us displaying musical skill with a pair of spoons to the beat. He was good.