Aroma Indian Bistro

Hey people! I'm back with a couple new reviews. This one is for the new Aroma Indian Bistro that moved into where the Kyber Pass and Himalayan Kitchen used to be on Pacific.

Aroma Indian Bistro (Yelp)

I met my brother for the lunch buffet last week and it was a reasonable $9.99. Does anyone else get excited by the term "all you can eat". My older self realizes now that this is not a challenge, but a value-driven marketing term.

The interior has stayed mostly the same with the big front windows letting in plenty of sunlight and tables in the middle and the open kitchen along the left side.

Look at all the silver domes of Indian food goodness! Some of them were tricky to open and close with one hand since you balance your plate in the other. I got better during my second trip.

There's a mini-salad bar as well with veggies, mixed greens and watermelon as well as several tasty sauces and dressings. The bro especially liked putting the mint sauce on cucumber slices. Crunch!

Slightly charred, but fluffy naan bread came with the buffet. The lemon in the ice water was a nice touch. Both were refilled many times during our meal.

How can you go wrong? Butter Chicken, two kinds of Masala (Chicken and Chana), Dal (lentils), Chicken Tandoori and steamed rice filled my plate. The Masala was a bit heavy on the tomato flavor, but still very good. My bro liked the garlic in the Chana one; it was chickpea-abundant.

My second trip was for the salad, Zucchini Pakora and more Butter Chicken on rice. The yougurt dressing was kind of bland and the sliced tomatoes had no flavor. This is the only bad thing I can say about the buffet. Otherwise, it was all thumbs up. I wish I could have taken a nap afterwards - always a good sign. We will be returning.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Value for price: 8
Overall: 7.50

Ambrosia - Aptos

Ok, here's a quick one. Met up with some buddies last week for lunch at Ambrosia in Aptos. This place has the best lunch buffet of Indian food around. Well worth the trip down Highway 1.

Ambrosia

The buffet is $9.99 and starts at 11:30am. We got there when the doors opened and there were a few other customers too. They keep things looking good inside - there's a full bar and a large back room. Even have cloth napkins, so you know you can take your mom. We got seated and then realized we were free to get over to the food asap. The plates are on the buffet table.

All the classics are here: Basmati rice, Butter Chicken, Fish Curry, Chana Masala (chickpeas with ginger and cilantro), Vegan Pakora (veggie fritters), Aloo Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) and more!

Here's my plate after the initial visit. They had a new item: Jackfruit in a tomato curry sauce. It didn't have much flavor on its own. The texture was firm, but I could cut it with a fork. It reminded me a bit of very firm tofu. The yellow sauce on the rice was spiced lentils.

For my second trip (hey, who's counting?), they brought out some grilled veggies. Zucchini, red and green peppers, onions and broccoli all in aromatic Indian spices. Does it get any better?

They also had a fresh salad section on the buffet, My buddy Russell, a honest-to-Betsy vegetarian, was happy with all the options. I passed this time since I was getting my veggies from the other awesome dishes. The watermelon is a good contrast to some of the spicier food.

I will always make time for Ambrosia. Great flavors, clean decor, efficient staff. They were spot-on with water and Nan bread refills. I always wonder about tipping at buffet places. I guess if you got your money's worth (and I certainly did), then you give generously.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Value for price: 8 (buffet!)
Overall: 7.75

Rangoli India Restaurant (San Jose)

I dedicate this restaurant review to my buddy, Spencer. This is because he gives me grief about reviewing places that aren't in Santa Cruz... "It's in the name of your blog!". Well, I believe if I come across some news-worthy food, I will write it up. Location, smo-cation! So there.

Rangoli web site

After seeing this movie, (which was very good if you're a foodie by the way), I wanted to sedate my cravings. I quickly scouted the area on my cellphone and found Rangoli. It was in a strip mall at Camden & Union, which can be a bad sign, but it had some good reviews. Let's see how it does...

Walking in, we noticed the place was dark and sparse of furniture. There was a big entryway and the seating area was around back. Interesting. We were seated at a table that had a tiny, little candle. With barely any light, we couldn't make out the menu! Thank goodness for the flashlight on the cellphone.

The reviews raved about this appetizer, Crispy Honey Indo-Chinese Cauliflower ($6) and it was amazing. Like, drop everything and order this immediately. It looks like something off a Chinese menu, but had some Indian spices. Not too hot, as the honey gave it equal sweetness. These crunchy bits of cauliflower are sooooo worth the drive.

My guest hadn't had a lot of Indian food, so we decided to go with the greatest hits - Shai Paneer ($13, soft cheese cubes in gravy), Chicken Tikki Masala ($14) and Chicken Vindaloo ($14). The waiter asked how spicy we wanted them and we replied "medium". The couple across from us warned us that their medium was more like hot. Better get some Garlic Naan ($3) to go with it!

So the entrees were on the hottish side, but were mellowed by the rice (included) and naan. The garlic on the naan was plentiful, but not over-powering. The Vindaloo was too much, but the Paneer and Marsala were perfect. Each had wonderful flavors and were abundant in their cool containers.

We ended up packing up the Vindaloo for my brother later that night. He likes it spicy! I would hate to see what this place's version of "hot" was. Big ups for the appetizer, but some knocks against for the cavern-like interior and volcanic Vindaloo.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 6
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 6
Value for price: 6
Overall: 6 (plus .5 for the Cauliflower!) = 6.5

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

Maharaja Downtown

Meeting old friends is always fun and this trip, I met Rhoda, Paula and Joel at Maharaja downtown Santa Cruz. Well okay, not "downtown" downtown, but just over the bridge by CVS. It was the Royal Taj for years, but recently changed names.

Website

This is one of the few Indian restaurants in SC and they have a lunch buffet that is very good. Let's see how they are at dinner.

The interior is a little nicer than before with cloth napkins and new tables now. They added new decorations around the walls that make you feel the Indian vibe. We took a window booth and they quickly filled our water glasses. Rhoda was late (that NEVER happens), so Paula and I ordered a Maharaja pilsner beer ($3.99). It was light, cool and refreshing.

We browsed the menu and found all the buffet items and more. Either a la carte or add $3.95 for the dinner plate, which came with rice, naan, raita (spiced yogurt dip) and salad.

Side note: One thing that bugs me is when you are chatting with your friends and the waiter interrupts about your order. Not the first time of course, but like 2-3 times after that. It was a long wait for us I know since Rhoda came after we were seated, but the place was not full. They didn't need our table. End rant.

Rhoda ordered the Chicken Vindaloo ($10.95 + $3.95 for the dinner) - a chicken and potato stew with a spicy sauce. Making it a dinner gives you lots of food with the main course served in its own bowl. It was spicy but not hot, so you could enjoy every morsel.

I ordered the Aloo Gobhi Mattar ($9.95 + $3.95 dinner), which was cauliflower, peas and potatoes in herbs and spices. The cauliflower was cooked just right - not too raw and not mushy. And you can see the huge naan pieces they kept bringing. Soft and warm, it's the best thing about Indian food. So you can sop up all the delicious sauces!

We also ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala ($11.95), which is clay oven roasted in a mild sauce, but I forgot to take a picture. There's a fine line between having the camera out and ready and being starving. The good news is it was up to the level of the other dishes - all delicious.

The new decor was nice, but the food prices went up a bit - maybe to pay for it? The lunch buffet used to be $7.95 and is now at $9.95, but that's still reasonable for a buffet. French for everything your belly can hold. The dinner price of adding $3.95 is worth it since I wouldn't be happy with just the entree. Next time I'll order one dinner per two people and split it.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 7
Overall: 7