Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Sitar downtown SC

My brother Mike and I used to work for a company in Cupertino. The commute was a drag, but the cornucopia of restaurant choices was divine. An old stand-by we always loved was Indian buffet at the Bombay Oven on Stevens Creek. It's gone now, but the memory still remains. One similar Indian food option in downtown Santa Cruz is Sitar.

Website - Yelp


They are located right on the mall, a few doors down from Logo's. Lots of pay parking in the back, but be aware of the farmer's market on Wednesdays. Sitar has a vegetarian lunch buffet during the workweek for $9.73 a person. Mike and I will get our money's worth!


We grabbed a plate and fork and started on the right side with the rice. Need to build a good foundation! Many different veggie dishes with spinach, lentils, tomatoes and potatoes. Paneer, Marsala and Aloo sauces too.


Everything is fresh and they replace the empty trays very regularly. Also, note the good-sized sneeze-guard.


You can also use the metal bowls to help separate your meal. It all goes into the same place however.. the belly! The naan was good and chewy and plentiful.


They have water over by the soda fountain and also iced tea. The buffet selection changes from day to day, but there's so many choices, you can't go wrong. My favorites was the sautéed potatoes in saffron and herbs and the paneer sauce. It's the one with cubes of soft cheese with a tangy flavor.


They also have salad (just iceberg lettuce, cucumber and carrots) and mint and sweet sauces. The rice pudding dessert is over there too.


Two plates of food, more naan and then rice pudding makes for a great meal. You could do more damage of course, that's what buffets are all about. But we wanted to still be able to move in the afternoon. By the way, the chickpea stew was a bit undercooked. But that's the only slip in all the dishes we had.


They also have a to-go lunch box for $5, where you fill up one-trip from the buffet. It's a good lunch on the go.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8 (for veggie buffet)
Service: n/a
Atmosphere: 7 (average, but clean and lots of sunshine)
Value for price: 8
Overall: 7.5

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