Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Hooray For Bollywood!: Bollywood Cafe

We all concurred that we love this restaurant.

And it wasn't because we think one of the waiters has a crush on my friend.

Nor was it because the aforementioned waiter switched the rose on our table out for one with a larger bloom.

Nor was it because he made it a point to turn on the bright blue and green cheesy light-up mural behind our table--the one that depicted a coastline and played corny ocean sounds--to provide after-lunch entertainment.


Who needs the ocean when you've got this?

No, it was because the food was actually really good. So much, in fact, that we've actually gone to the Bollywood Cafe twice in the last 5 days. (Talk about
FOCD!)

For some reason, it's a little reminiscent of those small Indian restaurants in London, or maybe just the ones I've seen...complete with burgundy red table linens, a bar, and waiters dressed in waiter-tuxes, it makes me wanna go back to jolly old England.

For starters, samosas, of course. These fat little triangles crisp, flaky outer shell, revealing either spiced ground lamb with peas or curried potatoes and peas. I'm not a huge fan of ground lamb, since I know that ground meat is usually of a lesser quality and freshness than unground meat and if you're dealing with lamb it's important, but the ground lamb here wasn't all that gamey. Perhaps because it was actually, perhaps it was because of the spices. Either way, the potato ones blew the meat ones away. They were soft, yet still chunky enough to have substance, and spiced just enough so as to not be too overpowering.


Scrumptious samosas

We weren't aware that their lunch specials are served almost family style with a heaping mound of basmati rice and a basket of naan for us to share, else we would have ventured into more variety on our first visit. My three friends ordered the chicken tikka, chunks of marinated roasted boneless chicken that seemed to stare back at you with its powerful orange glow. They asserted themselves well--they were indeed powerful, packing a spicy punch (even at the middle spicyness...the waiter warned one of my friends not to order the "very spicy" and he was right!) while having a perfect moist interior.


Orange is your friend: Chicken Tikka

I gotta say, though, that my chicken tikka masala kicked their chicken tikka butts. I was a little wary of ordering it at first, being that my last experience with chicken tikka masala at Los Feliz's Electric Lotus was watery, bland, and awful. But hey, it's their signature dish, so what the heck. It's not too exciting looking--just chunks of chicken sitting in a pool of thick, burnt-orange colored gravy, but one bite and the flavor blew me away. I loved the its hints of nuttiness and how the spiciness just kinda crept up on me like it was somehow planned that way. The chunks of chicken tikka, already tender, soaked up the masala sauce perfectly.


Same applies here, but more so: Chicken Tikka Masala

Their basmati rice was, well, just basmati rice, but was fluffy with that teeny tiny tinge of dryness that I like from this kind of rice and offset all the strong flavors nicely. The naan, however, was heavenly. Thin, yet pillowy, charred on the edges and wherever the dough bubbled up, it was perfect for sopping up every last bit of that delicious masala sauce. OK, well not every last bit. I actually had two leftover chunks of chicken leftover and a wee bit of basmati rice that I carried home in a doggie bag and scarfed down in a snacking binge the next day. Yeah, you know those times when you go to the kitchen and eat leftovers out of the conatiner? Well, they tasted just as good leftover. A really, really good sign in my book.


Like NAAN other

We were all stricken with FOCD, because we were back in less than a week. We decided to go true family style this time, going with the potato samosas, the must-have chicken tikka masala which was just as delicious as the first time, a chicken vindaloo, a sag paneer, and a sag aloo. Waiter-guy-who-has-a-crush-on-my-friend brought us a free basket of papadums: crispy, spicy rounds of Indian crackers that we dipped in various dipping sauces--one that was sweet and smoky, another that was green and clearly contained cilantro (blech!)--and raved about until our lunches arrived. I liked the vindaloo, containing curried chicken and potatoes, though it reminded me a little of a Chinese chicken curry dish that my parents make. It was certainly nice to have vegetables with our lunch this time, and because spinach seems to be a favorite for all of us, we decided on two "sag" dishes: sag paneer, creamed spinach cooked with cubes of cheese, and sag aloo, creamed spinach with potatoes. Both dishes were spiced very well with cumin, cardamom and ginger and were both good in my opinion, though because the sag paneer had more naughty stuff like cheese and cream, I preferred the sag paneer much more than the more healthy sag aloo. Another great meal.


Papadums...once you pop, you can't stop


Our second round...even better than the first!

Let's see which comes first, more FOCD and many more trips to Bollywood Cafe, or realizing that waiter-guy is more on the creepy side than the nice one. Let's hope it's the first.

Bollywood Cafe
11101 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
www.bollywoodcafela.com



11 comments:

Doran said...

Excellent! Just a couple blocks from my Saturday morning gig, where I finish at 11am. I can't wait for lunch this weekend. Chicken Tikka Masala, here I come. WooHoo!

El Bandini said...

mmm tikka masala looks good

the indian food in London(and UK in general) is far better than LA

especially lamb korma. I used to live in Scotland and I would eat lamb korma religiously.

cant find a lamb korma in LA that compares

Daily Gluttony said...

Doran,

Let me know what you think! Hey, you work at KPFK? Do you know Tony?

Bandini,

It is hard to find good Indian food; the last time I went it was at Electric Lotus, and it so much more about atmosphere than food. Typical of LA though.

MEalcentric,

Yes, I certainly do have that anti-cilantro gene. I've found that people either LOVE it or HATE it. Well you know me, I HATE it!

And no, it's the same camera; there just happened to be alot of sunlight at that place, so the pix turned out alot brighter. Somehow I always end up at dark places, so this was definitely a change!

susan said...

indian food in england is sooo good! best i've had.

e d b m said...

looks way better than akbar on wilshire. the best indian food i've had was in hong kong.

Doran said...

Yea, I know Tony! He's one of the Good People at the station.

Anonymous said...

Love that picture of Diamond Head??? WTF??? Did they have the light up one of the waterfall? The Naan with an almost burnt/slightly charred crust looks delicious.

BoLA said...

I so *love* Indian food...so much so that I tried my hand at making chicken tikka masala. Mmm...I rarely get out to the valley, but sure sounds like there are such great eats out there! Leftover chicken tikka masala is always yum! :)

Pam & Bandini: I hear you! I distinctly remember this fantastic tandoori chicken I had in London with some friends. It was such a feast that we just dove right in and left the bones on our table. Have you gone to Wagamama's before? I still crave the food there...mmm.....

Dylan: We need to go to Little India in Artesia.

Kirk: Oooo...Diamond Head. I miss Hawaii...

elmomonster said...

Gosh...why is it that what you post just happens to always coincide with my cravings? Or is it *because* of your post that I have a major jones for Indian food, specifically that British hybrid Tikka Masala.

Doran said...

Yummmm!

Pam, I owe you yet another free lunch. Bollywood rocks!

First the bad news. I obviously don't possess the same charms as your friend, because I pretty much had to demand attention before the guy helped me. Also, it was a bit too warm inside (it was about 11:30am) and so I decided to get take out.

As for the food, my only major complaint is the overuse of salt. Usually the problem is the other way around (not enough sodium chloride), but when I was done today I felt if I had finished sucking a salt stick. It was far from ruining the meal, but I wish it was less. Other than that, I was surprised that they dug out a bottle of Ashoka for my order of lime-pickle chutney. It seemed a bit as if a Cajun place served Zatarain's.

Okay, with all that out of the way, the food was amazing. It was the whole "circus in my mouth" thing with all the flavors. I got the lamb samosas, chicken tikka masala, basmati, and naan, along with the sauces. You were right on with all you said. The basmati was uneventful, but everything else was pretty fantastic. The chicken was not at all dry, which is usually a major complaint of mine. The sauce was an amazing tomato thing. The naan was indeed divine. The samosas were Real Good, but I'll do the potato ones next time.

So, all in all it was quite terrific. It will probably beat out Emon (in Burbank) for my regular Saturday afternoon curry fix, at least for the next few weeks.

Anonymous said...

Great write-up. Been meaning to try this place as it's very close by.

Thanks, also, to Doran for the salt warning. I'm gonna see if I can ask for low-salt...

Wish me luck!