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.