BBQ Boys - Eagan, MN

 

A new BBQ place opened up fairly near my house, so of course I had to check it out. It’s not your normal ribs and brisket kind of place, though. It’s much more unique and I went in not only with an open mind, but genuine curiosity and anticipation that this was going to rule. Hard. It’s referred to as “globally-inspired BBQ” – meaning they take all their knowledge of smoking and grilling meats and then combine it with other cuisines from around the world. I overheard a conversation at the counter and someone said they plan to change their menu periodically, which is both good and bad. Good for trying new things, but bad for going back and getting something you really liked over and over again. Hahaha. It’s a small price to pay.

This current menu is curry-centric. Lots of very interesting combinations that include spices and seasonings from India and Southeast Asia. What’s awesome is that if you can’t decide or you don’t know what a certain word/ingredient is, you can ask and the counter folks will explain it to you in simple terms. They were really great. 

 

D and I ordered a paneer pizza, some smoked wings (half with coconut-tamarind glaze and half Tandoori dry rub), and a crispy seared pork belly bowl. There were a couple of sides that we had our eyes on, but we knew this order was already going to be way too much food, so we hit the pause button. 

The paneer pizza is extremely unique. Paneer is a soft fresh cheese (meaning not aged), that melts pretty well, and it’s really mild. The pizza has a shahi sauce on it, which I believe is a tomato-based sauce, additional melty cheese, and also finished with a kachumbar sauce (diced tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers – think of it like an Indian pico de gallo). It’s also got some hints of cardamom throughout, which is a unique flavor for most of the pizzas I’ve eaten in my life. The pizza is personal-sized and has a good crust on it. It doesn’t quite get crisp all the way to the middle, since it’s got so many watery vegetables on it, but it’s still got really awesome flavor. No regrets on this one – it was great.

 

The smoked wings were really great, too. The coconut tamarind glaze was very mild, but the flavor was great – I just wanted more of it. Great pieces of meat and cooked perfectly. The tandoori rubbed wings were also fantastic, even better than the coconut tamarind ones. We ended up dipping these tandoori wings into the togarashi-soy sauce that came with my pork belly bowl. And, it was awesome! Speaking of pork belly…

 

The cirispy seared smoked pork belly bowl was probably my favorite thing. But I’m biased and love me some smoked pork belly. To be fair, the pork belly wasn’t as crispy and seared as I would have liked, but the flavor, both the smoke and the meat, was perfect. Just the right amount of fat and not gristle. So great. It was a really generous portion, as well. It was on a bed of basmati rice and some red cabbage, and served with a chili-infused pear chutney that tasted like a delicious Indian version of apple pie filling. It came with a togarashi soy sauce (sort of a better teriyaki sauce if you had to refer to something more common), and we ended up using that sauce for just about everything. Just an awesome overall dish.

 

While we were eating one of our fellow diners came up to the counter and said he had to order two orders of the smoked curry creamed corn and also a slice of cheesecake, which comes with either mango chutney or something else – all I heard was mango. He said he had never had anything like that creamed corn and just had to have more of it. When D and I finished our dinner, I went up and ordered that smoked curry creamed corn and that cheesecake. I also go the crispy three-chili potatoes. They were just calling to me. We got those to go, and then went home and ate them. Hahaha.

 

The guy was right – that smoked curry creamed corn was delicious. I could eat it with a fork, or a spoon, or as a dip for some chips. Just awesome and I’m glad I caved. Sadly, I ate them b before I took a pic.

The potatoes were like a smashed potato fried crispy and with some awesome sauce on top that had a little zing to it – still not spicy, but just great. 

And the cheesecake was also great – really, the cheesecake was good, but the chutney was great. Seriously, these guys know their way around a chutney. Also, no pic of that, either.

                                                

Also, so people know, the curries used in these dishes were top-notch. They aren’t spicy (I know Minnesotans get a little nervous around unusual flavors), so just get in there and try it out. I know they’re going to change their menu focus soon, so try to get there to check these dishes out and I’ll anxiously be awaiting the newest menu announcement. So worth the trip!

Top 5 things about BBQ Boys

1.     Crispy seared smoked pork belly bowl
2.     Paneer pizza
3.     Smoked curry creamed corn
4.     Smoked wings – tandoori rub
5.     Smoked wings – coconut-tamarind glaze

http://www.bbqboysmn.com

Indian Masala - Maplewood, MN

My friend Fred Garvin (male sex worker) has recommended a few places over the past few years and he’s been right on the mark. It surprised me that he and his family would drive from Minneapolis to Indian Masala just for Indian food, but I found out why – it’s worth it. 

The restaurant is very unassuming from the street view – in fact, we weren’t sure it was even open still. But once you get through the doors, the people are friendly, respectful, and very glad you’re there. We got seated at a booth and handed these very nice shiny menus that were massive. There are so many different dishes on this menu that we had trouble deciding what to get. Usually, when that happens, we just overorder to make sure we didn’t miss anything – this time was no different. I’ll also mention that they have an ever-changing lunch buffet. So you need to check and see which day you want to come. Some days it’s all vegetarian, some days it’s all biryani, some days it’s everything, you just have to figure out which day you want to show up.

I guarantee you that anytime I see Chicken 65 on the menu, I will order it. One of my all-time favorites. This was in appetizer form, which just means a smaller portion. D thinks she has never had a dosa before, so we got the spicy podi masala dosa to split, not knowing how large it was going to be. And order of Chana Masala and Lamb Chettinadu, as well. When asked, we told the server to give us a medium spice level since we weren’t afraid of a little flavor. D also went with a Maharaja pilsner, which seemed to throw off our server just a little bit, but good for her for breaking down gender norms like the champion she is.

The Chicken 65 is really awesome – as it always is everywhere you go. This version isn’t as saucy as some I’ve had and is more of a dry spice rub. I’ve tried to make this at home and I just can’t get it dialed in yet. Covered with onions (optional) and some lemon to squeeze on it. It’s just hard to beat this dish and they nail it here.

The spicy podi masala dosa was much larger than we thought it would be. It’s folded in half and still covers the cookie sheet they serve it on. It comes with a nice dal (sort-of lentil soup) and two dips – one cheese-adjacent and the other tomato-based. It’s sort of a rice flour crepe filled with a spicy potato mixture. It’s a little bit sweet, so the spicy filling really shines, especially when paired with the dips or the dal. I’m glad we tried this, since we’re still talking about it.

The Chana Masala was good – it’s difficult to mess up chickpeas in a rich tomato sauce. It comes with a large serving of basmati rice. The spice level on this was great and we were both really pleased with this dish.

The Lamb Chettinadu was a bit of a gamble, but it paid off. Really flavorful lamb chunks that were tender and not stringy or gritty. The sauce wasn’t something I’ve had before, but I loved it. It’s also served with a large amount of basmati rice.

Everything here was so delicious. We couldn’t finish it all, so we took half of it home in to-go containers for lunch the next day. There’s a dessert case on the way out, so I grabbed some kheer for myself – I’m a big fan. We’ll be back here, without question, so thank you for the recommendation, Fred Garvin.

Top 5 things about Indian Masala

1. Chicken 65

2. Lamb Chettinadu

3. Spicy podi masala dosa

4. Chana Masala

5. seriously thorough menu

 

Bottom 5 things about Indian Masala

1. It’s a bit off the beaten path, being on the south side of I-94 in the southern section of Maplewood

2. Sometimes, it’s difficult to decide what to get with such a vast menu – great problem to have

3. The buffet is going to be on my mind for many days

4. Nothing else is a negative

5. Nothing else is a negative

 

https://indianmasalamn.com

Pizza Karma – Eden Prairie, MN

I actually made it here on opening day. I’d been reading about this place for months now and a friend I was eating Indian food with (on Friday) reminded me it was opening the following Monday. I had the day off of work and convinced a few friends to join me – it wasn’t difficult. 

The place is in a strip mall three doors down from an Indian restaurant and grocery store. But it’s a completely different animal. It’s Tandoori-fired pizza topped with various Indian toppings. There are quite a few articles to read about this, so I won’t rehash all the details, but suffice it to say, the owner knows what he’s doing and intends to take this bigger than just a strip mall in Eden Prairie. It took us a while to decide what to eat, but we ended up splitting three appetizers and three pizzas to make sure we could get maximum coverage out of our visit. 

We ended up with the cayenne dusted crispy deep-fried okra fries (Served with a black salt and buttermilk sauce), stuffed potato cakes (served with golden raisin ginger sauce), and roasted smashed eggplant pate (served with naan) for our appetizers. Then, for our pizzas, we got a Chicken Kebab pizza, a Paneer pizza, and a Potato & Tandoor-Roasted Vegetable pizza.

A couple of us also got beers, since we weren’t going back to an office anywhere. The beer dispensing system is a thing of mystery. It’s got a magnet covering a hole in the bottom of the cup and when you set it on the dispenser, it pours the beer from the bottom-up. Magic.

The naan with the roasted smashed eggplant pate (which a certain unnamed member of our party referred to as “slurry”) was good. We all decided it needed a little more zing to the pate, but a lot of Minnesotans will be extremely happy with this – especially because it’s drizzled with clarified butter before it’s served. 

The Paneer pizza was quite good. The non-melting cheese cubes on top were really a treat when you bit into one, which is good because they were plentiful. There was a generous amount of peppers on the top of the pizza, as well. The tomato-fenugreek sauce on the top was different from any pizza sauces I’ve had, but definitely in a good way. A solid pizza overall. 

The cayenne dusted crispy deep-fried okra fries were one of the highlights of the meal. One of our guys doesn’t even like okra, but was ALL really liked these. They were almost hyper-fried. Like way past any fried okra I’ve had (and my family is from the south, so I’ve eaten my fair share of okra), but it made them little crispy chip-like things. Sooooo amazing, especially with the black salt and buttermilk sauce. And there’s a ton of them – just get these and thank me later.

The Chicken Kebab pizza was also good – and very similar to the paneer pizza (but with chicken instead of non-melting cheese). Lots of peppers and that delicious tomato-fenugreek sauce – like the paneer pizza. I’m not complaining, I assure you. I loved this pizza.

The stuffed potato cakes were stuffed with chili-spiced spinach green. I’ve had something this, somewhere else, but it wasn’t nearly as good as this one. Especially with this awesome ginger golden raisin sauce. A great appetizer. 

The winner of the day was the Potato & Tandoor-Roasted Vegetable pizza. It’s a good mix of roasted vegetables and has mango powder (which I can can’t even comprehend what that even is) and black salt. But the amazing part of this is actually TWO amazing parts: habanero harissa sauce and the fact that it’s served on potato-chili naan, instead of the plain naan that the other two pizzas were served on. It definitely had some zing to it and we all loved the heat. It might need a warning for Minnesotan’s who are spice-adverse. It was the best thing I’ve eaten in a while. I’ll be recommending this to tons of people.

Amazing job, Pizza Karma!! You’re nailing it!!!

www.pizzakarma.com

Soup ‘n Wraps – Eden Prairie, MN

I’ve heard (from people I trust) that there’s this new amazing Indian fusion restaurant. But it’s filled with wraps and bowls. Yes, my intrigue-level was ramped up very quickly. I finally got a chance to sneak there (despite missing out on multiple invites I’m now kicking myself for). When Fire Wally told me this place is in a strip mall, I knew it was going to be good.

When I walked in, the woman asked if she could help me, and I confessed I hadn’t been here. I recommend doing this, frankly, so you get the full treatment and don’t miss out on something amazing. She explained all of the options. I could get a bowl - which I’m pretty sure is a Styrofoam to-go container with two entrees and rice; you can get a “business lunch” – which is kind of a sampler platter; or you can get two wraps with any ingredients inside. The very patient and kind woman explained the vegetarian options and also the meat options. They’ve got palak paneer, various dals (lentils), aloo gobi, butter chicken, chicken reshmi, tikka masala, lamb curry, and chicken 65. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but chicken 65 is my favorite of all the numbered chickens. I needed some chicken 65.

They also had samosas, which I almost got. And a samosa wrap – I can’t even picture what that would be!. And chai. And Mango Lassi. They apparently have everything (except kheer). This place is wonderful.

I decided to go with two wraps. Each one with different fillings. These aren’t small wraps, either. They’re 8 inch crosses between naan and tortillas. I don’t know what they’re called, but they’re plenty big and hearty. I got one with chicken 65 and one with lamb curry. They asked if I wanted cabbage – yes, I did. They asked if I wanted sauce – yes, I did. One was a chili paste, one was a chimichurri, and one was an unnamed dark brown sauce. They warned me the chicken 65 was medium hot, but I had them add the chili paste anyway. They wrap it right in front of you, so you can see what you’re getting. Then they give you a small side dish of yogurt in case you need to dip your wrap into something cooling. The whole thing came to $7.50. That’s amazing.

The lamb curry wrap was really quite good. The wrap didn’t get soggy and held up, even with my erratic dipping into the yogurt sauce. No bones, a touch of cinnamon, and some heat from the chili paste. Wonderful!

The chicken 65 wrap was even better!!! Wonderfully flavorful chicken bites with no gristle at all. It had some pretty solid heat, so if you’re not a heat person, don’t get the chili paste. I loved every bit of this thing. I even considered getting another pair of chicken 65 wraps. It was a tough call, frankly. When I got up to clear my tray into the garbage, I warned the staff (the chef had come out to chat) that I would for sure be back. I can’t wait to tell everyone about this place. And, they extended their hours so they’re open for dinner most nights, as well. I’m not sure what the fusion part of this place is (maybe wraps), but this is one of the best lunches I’ve had in a really long time. Hit this place up as soon as you can.

6403 City West Parkway

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

www.soupnwraps.com

Trishna – London, UK

After doing some research on restaurants to check out in London (there’s only a few thousand, obviously), I kept seeing Trishna on the list. It’s an upscale-affordable, but not snooty, Indian restaurant in the Marylebone area. I had walked past it on my evening stroll a few times previous, and knew I needed to check it out.

The inside is about fifteen feet wide, with six tables on the main floor, and then an unknown number of tables upstairs (I didn’t check it out). The staff here make sure you're very well taken care of. They take – and return - your coat and call cabs for you. They make sure your wine is chilled and all of your glasses don’t run out.

The menu has a tasting menu, which I think I was outside the window of availability (only served the tasting until maybe 7 or 8pm), but all of the individual items on the menu, from starters, to mains and sides, were all well described and sounded delicious.

I decided on the Dal Chawal Achar to start with – yellow lentil and rice dumplings, yogurt, papad, and pickle. For the main course, after much deliberation, I decided on the Andhra Lamb Masala with curry leaves and coastal seasonings. I also ordered a bottle of Pinot Bianco Quercus from Goriška Brda vineyards. Not a fancy bottle by any means, but I was sure it was going to be good. (I was right, for the record...)

Even before my food came out, they brought a basket full of puffed rice crisps to the table with a mango chutney and a spicy tomato chutney. Both were really good to snack on while waiting for my order to arrive. I hadn’t intended to eat the entire basket, but I looked down and it was empty. Whoops!

The appetizer was fantastic. Even better than I expected it to be. The balls were light and fluffy and went really well with the yogurt it was perched upon. The green seasoning, like a pesto, on top of each of the balls had great flavor, as well. The pickled carrots had an unusual cross between mustard and wasabi spices to them, but they were fantastic.

The lamb masala was also mind-blowing. It fell apart when you touched it with the fork – which I know is not easy to do with lamb. These folks at Trishna are experts, however. The dish is served in a small crock, so it looks like there’s not a lot there, but it’s an illusion. There is PLENTY of meat in that crock. The seasonings and curry leaves added some top-notch flavor to the already tender meat. I loved this thing. You can order it with rice or with naan bread, and I’m glad I ordered the naan. It was two different kinds of naan in the basket. One ad black sesame seeds in it and the other was a bit garlicky – perfect. I know British people call the wrong things “biscuits”, so they don’t understand the meaning of “sopping it up with a biscuit”, but that’s absolutely what I did with the naan. The crock and my plate looked like they had just come out of the dish washer.

I wasn’t going to, but I totally caved at the end of the meal and got some kheer for dessert. It’s my favorite. If you haven’t had it before, it’s sort of a cross between rice pudding and tapioca, made with rice and condensed milk and cardamom. There’s was served in a beautiful brass pan with all kinds of seasonings on the top of it – which I’m not used to seeing. Now every kheer I get from here out will be compare to the kheer at Trishna.

At one point, I had to use the restroom (or the “loo”) and when I got back, the server had taken my not-yet-empty wine glass. The manager noticed and came over very apologetically and brought me a new (and FULL) glass of something similar. He felt bad that it had been removed and he was going to make it up to me. Which they did, when they brought out these small bite-sized brownie pieces and another full glass of dessert wine. The small desserts were pretty good, but whenever this happens, I wish D.Rough were here, since she appreciate brownies and chocolate-y dessert so much more than I do. You would have loved these, D.Rough!! I also made sure neither the server nor the bus person got into trouble for removing my glass. It wasn’t a big deal at all and I didn’t want anyone to take any heat for the simple mix-up.

I love the variety of people in this restaurant. I heard conversations in French, Italian, Russian/Ukranian, Indian, and English. It’s so good, people from every place in the world love it. I can’t say enough about the staff - they took care of everything. There was a group of French guys flirting with the 23 year old server (I overheard them asking her how old she was) and she took it like a champ. Just smiled and push them aside to wait on other tables. Well done. The manager made sure I was taken care of, well beyond the point most places would have stopped. Truly. A very good job. For an affordable restaurant, it was an upscale experience.

Indian food in the US can be really cheap (buffet-style) or a little bit fancy. I’ve never been to a really nice Indian restaurant like this before. It changed my mind on what it could be in the US. I’m a big fan of Trishna. I’ll likely round up some other people to come here on subsequent trips back to London.

Top 5 things about Trishna
1) Andhra Lamb Masala
2) Dal Chawal Achar
3) Super service
4) Menu has some really delicious sounding items, including some unusual game hens
5) Kheer

Bottom 5 things
1) Wish I had made it in time for the various tasting menus
2) I was sooooooo full after dinner, thankfully, I walked back to the hotel instead of using the tube

3) No pakora, which I was hoping for (everything else made up for it, though, I promise)

4) It’s a little pricey, but I think the cost is justified by the experience in this case
5) I’m ruined for Indian food at every other place now that I’ve had the best here at Trishna

Trishna
15-17 Blandford Street
Marylebone Village
London W1U 3DG

www.trishnalondon.com

Hot Indian Foods - Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, MN

D.Rough and I decided to meet for a quick dinner before we headed to various commitments we had agreed to separately. Thankfully, she's a genius and wanted to go to Hot Indian Foods in the Midtown Global Market. We had heard about these Induritos (basically Indian-themed burritos) and had been dying to try them.

Her and I share pretty well, so we decided to get a Curry Lamb Indurito and a Vegan Channa Indurito. We also caved and decided to get the IndoFrites (yup, you guessed it - Indian-flavored french fries). The people working there were super helpful and gave us samples of the insides of the burritos so we could decide. Really awesome and helpful.

The Curry Lamb Indurito was really quite flavorful and D.Rough liked this one the best. Lots of Lamb meat and plenty of other filling. This one held it's shape/construction really well while eating.

The Vegan Channa Indurito was my favorite. Tons of veggies (duh) and filled with my favorite - chick peas. The thing was a little juicy and became messy quickly - not a complaint at all, just commenting. It simply makes you eat the thing faster. Absolutely amazing.

The fries were the real winner of the show. Super breaded and had both sweet potato and white potatoes. The seasoning on them was perfect and the spicy mayo dip that came with them was incredible. We should have gotten our own orders of these, and probably will next time. Make sure you get these.

Delicious dinner and I can't wait to go back and try the other Induritos (which also come in bowl form, if that makes you feel any better). Wonderful little shop in the Midtown Global Market (and also operates a food truck around the cities).

Top 5 things about Hot Indian Foods
1. Indo-Frites
2. Vegan Channa Indurito
3. Curry Lamb Indurito
4. Amazingly friendly and helpful staff
5. The mobile food trucks comes to YOU

Bottom 5 things
1. Nothing I can think of...

www.hotindianfoods.com

Gorkha Palace – Minneapolis, MN

Gorkha Palace is one of those places I’ve driven by a lot, but never during lunch time since I work nowhere near the place. D.Rough and I decided to meet for lunch this week and despite planning to go to another place in Northeast, when we drove past Gorkha Palace, I knew we needed to eat there and today was the day.

The inside is smaller than I imagined, mainly because the building it occupies also contains multiple other businesses. But there is plenty of seating available. It filled up almost entirely during the lunch hour while we were there, but there’s quick turnover with an Indian food buffet, so that helps.

The buffet itself looks smaller than others I had been to, but don’t be fooled, the portions on the buffet are smaller, which means they can fit more items on the buffet, and they are fresh more often – both good things. They had these lentil crisps that looked like tortilla chips, but tasted completely different and also these Indian fry-bread things that were delicious. We didn’t see any naan on the buffet, but were still satisfied to eat the above mentioned two bread-like items.

The other items were a mix of vegetarian, vegan, and carnivore dishes, even a curried hardboiled egg dish and broccoli pakora. I filled my plate.

Then I filled my plate again.

Then I went and got some Indian-style chicken noodle lentil soup. Decent, but I wanted there to be more seasoning and pop to it. I’d eat it again, though. I also ate it so fast, I forgot to take a photo.

We had a great meal and got out of there pretty quickly so we could both get back to work. While Gorkha Palace isn’t a ground breaking Indian restaurant, it’s really good and you won’t be disappointed at all. The server was really nice and made sure we were happy with our meals, which we were.

I have trouble doing top 5’s for Indian buffets because I can’t ever remember the names of the dishes I’m eating. They’re all good though. Does that help? haha

www.gorkhapalace.com

Funky Desi Indian Restaurant and Lounge – Moline, IL

D.Rough were in Illinois visiting my family for Thanksgiving and thought we’d try out a new Indian restaurant in downtown Moline. I remember this place being some sort of dance club or banquet hall back in the day, so I was curious what it would look like inside. Plus the name includes “Restaurant and Lounge”, so my curiosity was piqued.

The inside is a weird cross between a nice Indian-decorated restaurant, a neon-lit dance club, and a sports bar (sooo many TVs above the bar). I’m not sure what the designer was going for here, but they’ve covered many bases here – I’m not sure that’s a good thing. But this also allows for plenty of seating – booths along the walls, tables in the dance floor area, and a nice private large dinner table for large groups in the front. It isn’t gaudy, it’s just confusing inside.

We went and checked the buffet out and it looked really good, so we both went with that plan. There were plenty of things up there, as well. Too many to name, and I’d butcher the names of the things if I tried. Veggie pakora, butter chicken, tandoori chicken, matter paneer, and a bunch of other things. I loaded up my first plate and when we got back to the table, the server lady had brought a nice basket of naan bread.

The food was above average, compared to many Indian buffets I’ve eaten at. The paneer was quite good and there was also a noodle dish that I didn’t catch the name of (I’ve never seen noodles at an Indian place, so this one stuck in my head), but it was very delicious. It wasn’t very spicy, but had good flavor. I wish the vegetable pakora hadnt’ been in a covered chafing dish, since that makes it soggy (not that it stopped me from eating about ten of them). The butter chicken was also above average. Overall, a pretty good showing from this restaurant.

I even had to go back up for a second round…. No one is surprised by this, I’m sure.

I generally try not to call people out on customer service unless it’s bad, but there was a younger server there with plugs in his ears (behind the bar a lot, so he may have been a bartender) who crossed a lot of lines with customers. I know HE felt he was being sociable and fun, but he did a few questionable things, including asking two Indian gentlemen why they weren’t drinking after he had tried to push some cocktails on them at lunch. “Is it for religious reasons?” – he ACTUALLY asked these guys this and then wouldn’t let it go. These guys were not regulars or anything, there was no camaraderie here, just invasiveness. Then, he badmouthed our server to the table behind them, saying she didn’t know how to do things and that was why she was screwing up. It was all a bit more than he should have been saying. It wasn’t funny, it was inappropriate and made people feel uncomfortable. Maybe we should have said something at the time. I wasn’t in the mood to be confrontational. If the food wasn’t so good, I may have, just to vent, but I was enjoying my lunch.

Aside from the too-many-televisions-showing-sports and “that” guy, the food was decent and fresh and plentiful. And from the looks of the DJ equipment, speakers, and spinning neon light-y things, I’m guessing it turns into an equally weird dance club at around 8 or 9, when the cocktail happy hours start.

Top 5 things about Funky Desi
1. Butter chicken

2. Matter paneer

3. Our server girl was extremely nice and very competent should not have been bad-mouthed
4. The buffet area was really classy and clean
5. The unnamed noodle dish

Bottom 5 things
1. Invasive and inappropriate server/bartender
2. Odd combinations of environments
3. Too many televisions for a non-sports-bar
4. Covered chafing dishes make battered food soggy
5. Some of the booths were taken up with DJ equipment, which we thought was odd…

www.funkydesi.com

Bukhara Indian Bistro – Wayzata, MN

 

I’ve been in the mood for Indian food for a few weeks now and I finally managed to buckle down a day to have lunch with M. and Trash Giant. I had read about Bukhara on the internet and didn’t see a lot of reviews. It was close enough to hit during the lunch hour, so I made them meet me there.

It’s got a lunch buffet, and that’s what we needed. They’ve got a pretty good sized buffet with many options for vegetarians (like Trash). We all loaded up our plates and headed back to gorge ourselves. The servers had brought a basket of naan to our table for us, so you really don’t need to get any from the buffet, but you can if you want. I did, only because I was unsure if my dining companions had ordered a special kind of naan and weren’t sharing.

There are a lot of things to choose from. Chickpea battered fried cheese, fish pakora, Matar Paneer, Paneer Makhani, Beef in a curry sauce, Chicken Tikka Masala, Tandori Chicken, yellow lentils, tofu masala, biryani rice, and a few other things I can’t remember off the top of my head.

I started with the deep fried cheese, but I was immediately disappointed with the lack of salt in the cheese. I really love chickpea batter, but if whatever it’s coating isn’t delicious too, it’s a waste. There wasn’t much flavor in the cheese, sadly. The paneers were both just a little bland. Im not sure if they’ve been sitting there a while, or just not seasoned enough for my palate, but I couldn’t tell the difference between many of the dishes. In fact, even the vegetarian couldn't tell the difference betwen the tofu and the cheese. The curry beef was one of the better tasting dishes, as were the yellow lentils (and those generally don’t have much flavor at most places). The naan was fine, but I think that’s difficult to mess up – it’s basically a mechanism for me to scoop things, and sop up juices on my plate afterwards anyway.

I tried a few different things when I went up the second time, but it was pretty much the same result (you can see the missing spot where I dove into my beef curry before remembering to take a photo – hahahaha). The second plate was also pretty lack luster.

I finished the meal with some kheer (which thankfully, they had). It was fine – nothing special, but it isn’t a hugely flavorful dessert anyway. I liked it just fine though (both bowls that I ate…).

I’m not planning any trips back here to Bukhara anytime soon. It wasn’t the best showing, even for a buffet. There are other Indian buffets I need to try!

Top 5 things about Bukhara

1. Beef Curry

2. Yellow Lentils

3. Kheer

4. Super-fast service

5. Many items to try

Bottom 5 things

1. Chickpea battered cheese – paneer pakora
2. Matar Paneer
3. Paneer Makhani
4. Tandori Chicken
5. It’s kind of a pain to get to

www.bukharamn.com