no pork in India...

that's fer sure.

saw that Dy, Mark, and Nelle went to an Indian buffet for dinner. is the Taj Mahal (in Golden) related to the Taj Mahal that was on 17th and Clarkson in the late 90's?

we had Indian too! there's a newish Indian restaurant Grill & Tandoor in SE Denver (just east of the Continental 6 Theatres) that we had visited a couple times. originally, it had started out as an Indian buffet, but i guess the demographics weren't right for this situation; they must have been throwing away a lot of food at closing. so, they now sport a menu that's quite similar to Little India. in fact, one of the Nepalese bussers who worked at Little India has defected to this place (he's a server here though) - surprised that we recognized him ;)

anyway, the food was quite good. the papadums and the accompanying chutneys had very fresh, bright flavors. the kabli naan (our favorite) had some succulent cherries and raisins. the paneer masala i ordered, super tasty. however, i would have liked a bit more sauce...needed to be a bit more 'stewy.' lois ordered chicken vindaloo since they didn't have any Madras dishes, which are usually spicier. not as hot as we like it, but still good with very complex flavors; the ginger and cilantro really stood out. they were chintzy with the potato though. vindaloo should have more than one racquetball-sized potato. come on, if we're paying $10.99 for this dish, they can certainly afford to put another lousy ten-cent spud in there...

ah well, they made up for my idiosyncratic dining mood by not charging us for our chai...ohyeah ;) we'll be back. service (especially refills) was better than Little India AND there's actually sufficient parking at Grill & Tandoori! unless you go on a weekday night, it can be hell finding a parking space at Little India...

other Indian restaurants that Lois and I patronize...

Masalaa...the only strictly vegetarian Indian restaurant in the area! our Nepalese friend, Simrika, swooned over this place. she said that it's truly 'authentic' Indian cuisine.

Royal India is good too. their channa masala is stellar! the prices are a wee bit steep, but the portions are generous. at least they don't nickel and dime you to death (like Little India) when it comes to getting more rice. i just wish the service were better; their servers just plain disappear sometimes.

used to go to Delhi Darbar, now called India House. will have to head downtown...although another Little India has opened on 15th and Champa. AND they have had 2 fer 1 coupons in Westword lately :) maybe India House will have to wait heh.