Friday, December 26, 2008

Memsahib

"First impressions are lasting impressions". Or perhaps, "Don't judge a book by its cover". From our first experience at this Indian restaurant in Baltimore, MD, the second statement wins handsomely. As we strolled through the streets of Inner Harbor Downtown looking for a nice place to dine, we were not greatly impressed by the shady streets and parked old cars around Lexington Street. But a first-rate experience awaited us when we least expected it.
The usher-waiter was genuinely courteous. The seating was splendid and comfortable, the decor inside was ethnic and soothing. The menu at dinner was exquisitely unusual. You get to choose one of two starters, one of three main course options, one of two dessert options, then tea and papad. No extensive looking menu-cards like some other places where you get different vegetables in similar tasting gravy. I don't particularly remember what I liked the most, but the bhelpuri, the nan (bread), the kheer were all very well-made. And then we felt like eating some yoghurt (not on the menu), they got me some just like that, and did not even bill for it! To top it off, they had a huge display screen (check the picture below) that streamed some of the latest Hindi film songs, that more than quenched my thirst for Bollywood chartbusters. Overall, easily the best Indian dining experience in the USA so far for me. So don't forget to include it in your travel plans to Baltimore.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

In 1998, I have been in the inner harbour down town, walking through the multiples of 'dabhas' around, offering a variety of quick grabs for lunches at Baltimore. Not satisfied, we soon discovered an Indian restaurant, somewhere up-town. I do not remember the name of the restaurant,nor do I remember the name of the street but I do remember that they offered a buffet lunch, typically consisting among others of 'nan' and 'chole', which were of high class and so good that for the rest of our conference stay, we were quite regulars at this restaurant for lunch. I wonder whether you visited the same Indian restaurant ten years later.
Certainly, there was no big TV screen inside the restaurant.

Mon Dec 29, 03:28:00 AM  

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