Indian Food in Utah? Absolutelty!

Indian Food may be the strangest culinary journey of my life. When I was younger, and did not yet embrace all that the food world had to offer, I let a golden opportunity pass me by. You see, one of my best friends is Indian. We have been friends since the second grade, which means that I spent a great deal of my youth hanging out at his house. Have you ever noticed how Indian places have THAT smell? You're not sure what it is, you only know that it is some sort of combination of spices and, when put in to food, it produces something tasty. Well, THAT smell was ever-present at my friend's house. His mother, in addition to being a wonderful lady, is a fantastic cook. So, where does the strange part of this journey begin? That's the thing, it already has. That is because even though I was surrounded by great Indian cuisine, and even though it was being offered to the point of nagging (one of THOSE moms who always thinks you look malnourished :) I hated it. I did not like Indian food. And it wasn't the food, it was me! I know this because now when I go to visit her, I beg for her food! And I know it is the same stuff that I thought she was "pawning off" on me before. As a self-proclaimed lover of Indian food, I do find it hard to hold back the tears when thinking about years of missed opportunities in that house. OK, that may be a bit dramatic, but you get the idea.
So, how did I "rediscover" Indian food? The Sage talked me in to it, on a trip to Palo Alto. Convinced from my youth that partaking of said food would cause a slow, painful death, I nonetheless played along for the sake of good sport and food adventure. We went to Amber India (still the best Indian I have ever had), and a love affair was born. I can't get enough now! Life is funny that way I guess, which is why I make it a point never to turn down an opportunity to try, or re-try, something new - food or otherwise. OK, life history aside, here are some of my favorite spots to dive in to my rediscovered love :)

Taste of Punjab

Like many Indian places, this restaurant offers a lunch buffet. I have no idea why they all do this, but I am not complaining. After all, it offers the perfect opportunity for a guy like me to try a lot of things on the menu in one trip. A lot of Indian places will treat the buffet like an afterthought, forgoing many of the better dishes and giving customers the very very basic fare. To those places I say: Stick it up your tandoori! Anyhow, as you can probably guess, this buffet is very good because they put some of the better menu items out. It is also an excellent choice for dinner. The Butter Chicken is fantastic. I could take it in IV form. Everything else is good. Seriously, I have never been disappointed at this place, and I like that it will not disappoint whether I go for lunch buffet or sit-down dinner. This is the best Indian place I have found in Utah, because it is consistent in its tastiness. Go ahead, try and be disappointed here. I dare you!

Ganesh

This place has only been around for a little while, but I am already a fan. Like T.O.P, they are not afraid to include good items on the buffet and also offer good quality food at dinner time. Their Butter Chicken and a few others don't quite incite the same giddiness in me that T.O.P. does, but they are still pretty dang good. The star here is the Chili Chicken. Little bits of chicken breast with plenty of spice and some tasty peppers and onions thrown in for good measure. As a bonus, it is always on the buffet.

Himalayan Kitchen

This is good Indian food. Nothing is really worth doing backflips over, but it is solid and pretty tasty, and definitely the best downtown-area Indian. They just moved locations, and the new spot right around the corner from the old one is very nice. While you are here, try some of the nice Nepalese dishes. Some of them are actually better than the Indian standbys on the menu.

Taste of India

Layton is starting to carve out a nice little restaurant district just north of the mall. Notable places such as Rooster's, Holy Smoke BBQ, and MacCool's are all worth visiting. In the same area is Taste of India. This was advertised as the best Indian in Utah, and has been well-reviewed by a number of publications, so obviously the Sage and I thought it was worth a drive up north to check it out. It's good food. I wouldn't put it above Punjab or Ganesh, but it is every bit as good as Himilayan Kitchen. The only reason that it is not ranked up with it is because it is a hair more pricey. I probably wouldn't make a special trip back up to Layton to eat there when there are some really good places close to home, but if I were in Davis county and hungry for Indian I would not be at all opposed to stopping in

**That should do it for the Indian list. I have eaten at many, many others, but I have noticed that once you get past the exemplary ones, all Indian places kind of taste the same. I have not had really any BAD Indian in town, but the rest of the places are all pretty average I think.

St. George

Hi all, I just got back from a quick trip down to Utah's Dirty South and thought I would share some of my culinary quests while there. St. George has always been an enigma to me, because it feels like it ought to have a lot of really good food haunts. Problem is, I have not been able to find many. Anyhow, here are some quick reflections on some that I HAVE been able to find (Oh, and we DID high-tail it out of town one night to drive down to Vegas for Dinner at Batista's - and as always it was well worth the drive!)

The Egg & I

This is a pretty big chain in Colorado and Texas, but in Utah the only place that I know of that you can find it is in St. George. It's only open until 2 pm, which is fine because, as you may have guessed from its name, it specializes in breakfast. Everything is good, so order away and try some of the funky adaptations on the menu like the Hiker's Benedict or indulge in some good old-fashioned comfort food. Whatever you order, it's gonna be good. Now if only we could get this place to expand to Salt Lake!

Ted & Allen's Sports Grill

Actually, this place is in Hurricane (and if you know how to pronounce the name of that town, congrats, you are a true Utahn!) The ten minute drive from St. George is nice and filled with breathtaking glimpses of signature red rock, and the food is worth going a little bit out of your way for. Sage and his wife told me about this place when they were down about a month ago, so we decided we would give it a whirl. It's very clean and nice for a sports bar, and the food is a little better than standard sports bar fare. I had the Philly Burger, which is a gigantic concoction that starts out with a burger and tops it with peppers, onion, and cheese (Philly steak style) mixed with thinly sliced prime rib. It's a gutbomb, but it is fantastic! The fries that accompanied it were pretty good quality as well and were nice and thick. The Mrs. opted for a fish sandwich, which came (as the fish and chips do) with an enormous piece of lightly fried Pollock. Getting really full tastes good in this case, as I found it to be much tastier than the standard Cod so often used for these dishes. A side of Cream of Broccoli Soup was a nice touch, although you should be warned that there are big pieces of celery in it, which I don't mind but some people aren't too fond of in soup. The service was very friendly, but SLOW, so be warned. They also have more of a restaurant-style dinner menu (steaks and such), and there are a lot of other things on the menu that I would like to try, so hopefully my travels take me back soon. Until then, go there and report back to me so that I know what else on the menu is worth sinking my teeth into!

Pirate Island Pizza (Buffalo Chicken Pizza)

OK, this is more of a dish review since I did not really try anything else here. It's hard to take this fun place seriously, with its kid-friendly pirate theme and accompanying arcade, so when I joined my wife for a company function here, my expectations were pretty low. We tried Buffalo Chicken Pizza, which came out looking flat and ordinary and pushed my expectations lower still. Imagine my surprise, then, when I bit in to some of the best BC Pizza I have ever had. The chicken was plentiful and hidden below the cheese, as was a creamy layer of blue cheese which complemented the tasty buffalo sauce perfectly. I cannot speak for any of the other varieties there, but I will definitely be back for the Buffalo Chicken, book cover thoroughly disregarded (I hope you got that reference!)

Krave

OK, this is just a really cool concept. Krave is a self-serve frozen yogurt place! Here's how it works: You take you cup ( as big or small as you like) and fill it with as much of any of the 15-or-so flavors available as you like. Feel free to mix and match. I did, and came out with a nice looking melange of Tart Original (think Red Mango if you have been there), New York Cheesecake, and the uber-delicious Tropical Banana. All of the flavors include info on whether they are low-fat, fat-free, sugar-free, and even dairy-free (i.e. peanut butter or mixed berry). But you are not done yet, for yogurt selection and deployment is only half of the battle! Next, you get to choose from a variety of self-serve toppings, including the standard candy and candy bar toppings, cereals, nuts, fresh fruits, and even sauces that come out of a squeeze bottle and include everything from raspberry to white chocolate. Hot fudge? It's behind the counter and is the only thing that the employees will actually do for you. When you are all done making your masterpiece (there is no limit to size or number of yogurt or toppings so long as you can fit them in) you present your newfound work of art to the cashier, who will then weigh it and charge you by the ounce. At 38 cents per ounce it's not a bad deal, but the ounces can add up quickly. Best of all, it tastes terrific. Not a bad way to get your dessert on and have a little fun in the process!

Oh, and we DID find time to grab some delicious burgers from In-N-Out, but I will spare you the review since it's already in the archives :)