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| Sign (By Kyle) |
(They also had a sign last week that said they had already opened, so we take everything with a grain of salt.)
Flavors of India comes from the folks who own House of India. I understand this will be cuisine similar to the dosas and other items at Mango Grove, another place that I love.
(Update: Flavors of India opened.)
Their website is:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flavorsofindiainc.com/
oh Indian food how I love thee! kikiverde turned me on to The Royal Taj and I want to eat there...daily. Dosai bar and chai on tap? I can't ask for more than that...
ReplyDeleteMango Grove (MG) is better.
ReplyDeleteIt has better food (tastier and more/better flavorings/spices) and a more interesting menu ("That sounds good, I want to try this next time I come.")
Since Flavors of India (FoI) is mainly vegetarian, I decided to try both MG (entirely vegetarian) and FoI for the first time and see which one was better, I even tried similar items - vegetable samosa as an appetizer and a dosai for an entree. (The spring masal dosa at FoI and the Mango Grove Special at MG).
First, FoI. The samosa filling was a bland vegetable puree. It came with a sweet red sauce(date?) and a spicy green sauce (mint?). I had to put both sauces on the samosa to give it any flavor. It also came with a tepid soup (sambar(?). The dosai was 3 large vegetable crepes. The seasoning/spices on the vegetables was "subtle".
The samosas at MG also came with the 2 sauces and a good bowl of sambar. I could identify/taste the individual items in the filling and the sauces enhanced the flavor of the samosa as the filing has it's own distinct flavor. The dosai was tasty vegetables covered with the Indian version of a Chinese "bird nest", but much more favorable.(It's hard to describe.) It was a very nice meal and I will go back again.
My husband and I went to Flavors this past weekend. We ordered all veg dishes. The Good: spicy pappadam with chutney (free!); spinach pakora had a great deep fried, crunchy but soft consistency; sambar was excellent (my measure of a decent Indian restaurant); generous idli size; dosa achieved crispy, crepe-y consistency; vadai had a nice, crunchy exterior; attentive service. The Bad: Aforementioned idli and vadai were not particularly fluffy on the inside; pakora could have used a little more flavor, but chutney made up for it; one of the pappadam was not cooked completely; overly ambitious menu - North, South, East, West, and Indo-Chinese represented. Is it better to have it all and be mediocre, or choose what you are really good at and serve those dishes?
ReplyDeleteWe went this weekend.Early Sat evening there appeared to be some sort of party going on for a large group on the main side, so we & the next few early diners were seated on the bar side. Quite nice room. Quiet & clean. DW ordered the Corn Masala, which she couldn't eat as it was a fried dish, & obviously not gluten free. My Samosas were not especially flavorful, but the chutneys that came with the pakoras made them quite satisfying. I have to say I've never had such low oil/fat level samosas in all my years of Indian dining.
ReplyDeleteThe salad was a blockbuster. A huge plate of nicely dressed carrot, cucumber, onion, tomato, & lettuce suitable for two, with a nice yogurt dressing on the side, for under $4. Awesome!
My wife had a Masala Dosa, which was huge. A filling of potato & onion was just a small pocket in the center of a HUGE rice pancake, & she loved it.
My Tandoori fish, a marinated salmon, came with a huge bowl of perfectly cooked rice. I believe the salmon was Atlantic Farmed, and as such it more moist & soft than I prefer, but the flavor was quite good. It lacked the nice dish of red sauce that accompanies the comparable dish at House of India.
All in all, a well enjoyed meal. Far better service than the other Indian places we frequent in the vicinity. We will definately be going back soon.