Sunday, January 22, 2012

Indian American Cafe

As noted in my post of yesterday, I feel guilt over anything I might have done to make Indian American Cafe sound less wonderful than Taste of India. So I'm going to knock together a quick IAC post to make myself feel better. Not that anyone reads this anyway.

  • Location: 91 N. Main Street. This is one of those crazy hole-in-the-wall places I started this blog to celebrate.  There's no awning, no big street sign. You'd drive right past it and never notice, unless you happened to be stuck at that light. 
  • Website: They don't have one. Menu information is available at http://rockingham.va.golookon.com/listings/indian_american_cafe
  • Food profile: Indian, but more of a north Indian/Nepalese flavor than the other Indian places in town. They have all the foods on the menu that you would expect, but the spice blend is a bit different. The restaurant used to be listed as the "American Indian Cafe" in a local phone book, which I'm sure caused a good deal of confusion from patrons who arrived hoping for some spoon bread and bison. Interestingly, they used to serve what one would think of as "American" food, in addition to the Indian cuisine. I only know this because once, my team at work hired a Canadian guy whose parents were from India. On his first day at work, we decided to go to IAC, in an effort to show him that he could get the food of his people in little Harrisonburg. He ordered a hamburger. "I hate Indian food," he said. I still don't know if he was joking; that's just the kind of guy he is. Hamburgers are no longer on the menu.
  • Price: $10-12 for an entree.
  • Tip: The best deal is to get take-out. They really fill the take-out container, which is bigger than the eat-in plate.
  • Warnings:
    • Cash or check only--no credit cards!
    • Closed on Mondays
    • The waiter will ask you what "spice level" you want your food at, on a scale of 1-4. These numbers are largely meaningless, or are an approximation at best. What you actually get depends, as far as I can tell, on the cook's mood and the spice levels ordered by the other people in your party--and/or the restaurant at large. If you want really killer spice levels, try ordering a "Rick Black"--but only with the permission of everyone at your table.
    • Periodically, throughout the year, the restaurant closes for several weeks because the owners go on a trip back to Nepal. This will invariably be at a time when you wake up with a mad craving for some ponir saag with a luschy on the side. You will be disappointed. Sorry.
  • Atmosphere: Casual, but not sloppy. The staff is very friendly and the place is clean. Art from India decorates the walls. It doesn't try too hard to feel Indian--the waiters typically wear khakis and polo shirts rather than saris, and the music is as likely to be John Mayer as Ravi Shankar. There's something sort of nice about this. It's not self-conscious; it's a restaurant that says, "We're in America, and we have our home culture, and we're blending the two."

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Taste of India


So, on a recent date night--the sparseness of this blog pretty much reflects the sparseness of our dating life--the husband and I attempted to eat at the Local Chop & Grill AGAIN. I really think they don't want us there. My husband called to make a reservation, and they told him we didn't need one...then we showed up, and they were closed. As God is my witness, we will eat there some day! And never go hungry again!

Uhm. So anyway, we decided to go to Taste of India instead, and I figured I'd write about it here.
  • Location: 498 University Blvd. It's near that spot on Reservoir where you think you're cool and then suddenly it turns into a left-only lane and you can't get back over. Once you make that left turn, take the first parking lot on the right and enjoy some Indian food. 
  • Website: http://tasteofindiahbg.com/html/location_harrisonburg.html The site loads slowly and doesn't have a lot of information on it, but it is a good place to grab their menu if you want to look before you go.
  • Food profile: Indian (duh). Unlike Indian American Cafe, which actually is more of a Nepalese flavor, this is India Indian food. Tandoori, I guess. 
  • Price: $10-$15 for an entree. They also have a pretty sweet lunch buffet, which I think is around $8.
  • Specialties: I'm not really sure what they'd say their specialties are (the food is all good), so I'm going to go with service and hospitality. The staff does a great job of making one feel at home, keeping the water glass filled, answering questions, and generally being friendly without being obtrusive.
  • Local sourcing? Not as far as I could gather.
  • Tip: Can't decide what you want? Get the thali, sort of a combination platter. I always assumed it meant "sampler," but the last time I was in there, the proprietress (I think that's what she is--she's always there and seems to be running things) told me that "thali" means "at home"--it's like the little nosh you put together out of your fridge for a casual family dinner. Available in vegetarian and meat.
Food: A wide selection of Indian food. You can request various levels of spiciness when you order, and unlike Indian American Cafe (see, I'm going to have to write an entry about that place now, because I really do love it and here I am knocking it...), the spice level seems to mean something.

Atmosphere: The exterior looks a bit questionable, like it's part of a shopping plaza (which it is). Inside, though, the whole place is decorated with beautiful prints and statues from India, the waitresses all wear beautiful saris and salwar-kameez, and the tables are set with pressed linens. It's not the fanciest place in town, but it's no dive.