I tried this Indian restaurant on OBT in between Lancaster and Oak Ridge (across from an Army and Navy store) last night. It is from the Aashirwad/Tamarind people. I guess this is a less formal offering? The menu didn't seem too "street" to me. Most of the usual suspects. I'll have to premise my review with a caveat. I believe I ordered the one thing you shouldn't. I saw a few dishes on other tables and they looked pleasing. I had the tandoori pompano (whole fish with bones) for $20. I like that silvery sucker and I've never ventured that far down the tandoor rabbit hole. It was a box that needed checking. Thought it wouldn't work. I was right. Even if the fish is fresh, I think that kiln would dry out anything that delicate. This was dry, mushy and foul tasting. The rub really overpowered the fish. Very bitter. Not sure if I was supposed to take off the skin. It was slightly better with it off. The fish tasted a bit too fishy. I'll bet it was frozen. And old. A smaller pompano. It came with an afterthought garnish salad and lumpy basmati. Not sure plain basmati is a real match with tandoori fish. Not a great composition. Maybe some vegetables? I'll take this chance to veer off on a food tangent. I saw a taste test on Cook's Country that American basmati sucks. It has to be aged for at least 9 months. We don't do that. Indian brands like Dawaat do. We now return you to your original broadcast. The menu is broken down into small plates (things you can find under appetizers on most menus), bigger plates (similar and a chicken tikka bao is maybe the one concession to diversity/street food), vegetarian curry, dakshin se (crepes, etc), non-veg curry, tandoor, biryani, bread and Chinese. Is there anything "street" or atypical there? Maybe the Chinese? The place looks nice. A box. High ceilings. Bar. Visible kitchen. Gray, black and orange colors. Cutlery and glassware and serving vessels were cool. Copper serving pots. Tapered, conical glassware (real). Open for five months. It seems to have garnered a reputation. The crowd looked like they drove into the neighborhood. I talked with one table (tourists) and they said that a friend who lives here told them to go there. And Open Table recommended them. I haven't checked the word on the net/street. It was getting fuller. Service was a bit understaffed. Nice though. No refills. Didn't wait long for service. They are open for lunch and dinner. Lunch stops at 3pm. Dinner starts at 5pm. Ample parking. I think you should give it a try. Just don't order the fish (actually use that as a rule of thumb in most non-seafood spots). Try something with the gunpowder spice mix. That is one of the street foody sounding things they do offer.
*Here are some oddities I saw on my last trip (notes to follow on that in next post): A salad creating machine called Sally and microwave pork rinds by Lowrey's Bacon Curls in a supermarket in East Grand Forks, MN. Folios' cheese wraps (like tortillas) and meat sticks by Steve's Smokey Acres in a supermarket in Bemidji, MN. Those sticks looked like skinny hot dog or undried jerky. Jellied Pot Roast Beef Loaf by Elliott's in a supermarket in Two Harbors MN. It was sliced liked bologna. And guacamole mixed with hummus by Holy Land something? Swiss Almond cheese spread in a supermarket in Bayfield WI. They had alot of wacky flavors. Odd restaurant stuff in the next post. In three days or so. Only one grub crawl left in the hopper.
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