Although I no doubt fear the wrath of Cornbread Carp, who recently suggested (demanded?) a rating from LITG for SaZa’s, the LITG crew branched out to a whole different brand of ethnic food: Indian. What, you might ask, you mean you dined on the food trinity of corn, beans, and squash enjoyed for so many years by the original (like, REALLY original) Gumpians? No, not those "Woo-Woo" Indians! The real Indians – the ones who are actually from a country named India!!
And so we ventured off to India Palace, a modest joint on McGehee Road in an area that – let’s face it – has somewhat gone downhill in recent years. The atmosphere was a bit bland. I’ve never been to India, but I dare say it probably looks like something other than a former shop in a rundown shopping mall in Alabama. This is certainly not Gumptown at its finest. But I was hoping maybe they had saved money on décor by spending it on what really matters: the food.
The food was buffet style, with no menus provided. This suited us just fine, since buffet is the only way to truly sample what the place has to offer. I can only assume that the food was authentic. The people working there appeared to be Indian, and I think I have even seen a few ex-pats dine there in the past. But despite its health benefits:
My liver function is just fine thank you....
the food was rather pricy at $10 for the buffet (not including drink, tip, or tax). I heard from others that the goat curry was good but by the time I got to it, there was nothing but little goat bones swimming around under the heat lamp. The chicken curry was less bony and good but not particularly spicy. And, after all, what’s the point of going to an Indian restaurant if you’re not going to leave sweaty but with clear sinuses?
The good news is that most of the food at the buffet had a label above it on the sneeze guard. The bad news is that most of the labels were either too blurry to read (presumably from all the sneezing) or were in a language other than English. Hey! Just because we are paying you to feed us your food doesn’t mean you don’t have to come up with a name for it that we can actually read!
I must admit that while I was eating, I was secretly hoping for a spontaneous outbreak of Jai Ho. Now that totally would have been worth $10. Pussycat Dolls not required.
So, the food was decent but expensive. Well, not THAT expensive but certainly not cheap. I mean, not like they’re Indian-givers or anything. Oh, wait, sorry. That’s usually meant to insult an entirely different race of people. All in all, I give them 2 out of 5 curry spices.
the food was rather pricy at $10 for the buffet (not including drink, tip, or tax). I heard from others that the goat curry was good but by the time I got to it, there was nothing but little goat bones swimming around under the heat lamp. The chicken curry was less bony and good but not particularly spicy. And, after all, what’s the point of going to an Indian restaurant if you’re not going to leave sweaty but with clear sinuses?
The good news is that most of the food at the buffet had a label above it on the sneeze guard. The bad news is that most of the labels were either too blurry to read (presumably from all the sneezing) or were in a language other than English. Hey! Just because we are paying you to feed us your food doesn’t mean you don’t have to come up with a name for it that we can actually read!
I must admit that while I was eating, I was secretly hoping for a spontaneous outbreak of Jai Ho. Now that totally would have been worth $10. Pussycat Dolls not required.
So, the food was decent but expensive. Well, not THAT expensive but certainly not cheap. I mean, not like they’re Indian-givers or anything. Oh, wait, sorry. That’s usually meant to insult an entirely different race of people. All in all, I give them 2 out of 5 curry spices.
Did they even have corn bread?
ReplyDeleteA good goat will be a little bony.
ReplyDeleteThey have naan. Great for sopping up the gravies. On weekends the naan may be spiked with garlic and spices.
ReplyDeleteIs this where Del Amalia was? Is this a reincarnation of Del Amalia? Will it eventually reincarnate itself into a decent place to eat? I will have to ask Tojo.
ReplyDeleteDon't know what the previous restaurant was. India Palace is not a reincarnation of any other, since it's the first, and still only, Indian restaurant in the Gump.
ReplyDeleteNot pricey. Remember, it's buffet and Tojo can waddle away happy for $9 or #10. They also have Kingfisher beer, which is an Indian-style beer produced in NY State.
Tojo believe India Palace have many past lives. Karma strong at India Palace. Tojo remember when Cody's Mens' Store in India Palace space. One time Tojo get snazzy madras pants from Cody's. Madras former name of city in India. Coincidence? Tojo think not.
ReplyDeleteTojo in Madras shorts? Now that's a mental picture.
ReplyDeleteI thought Togo wear only skimpy Sumo wrestling outfit everywhere. Cannot imagine Tojo in madras pants.
ReplyDelete