146476 Sun Nov 23 11:54:09 -0800 2003 2 12 Boston Area 0 785135 WOW! Their express lunch is $15 and you choose a salad and an entre. Naan with a dipping sauce accompanies the meal. I had the beet salad with red, golden, pink and striped beets in a light cumin vinagrette. The beets were perfectly sweet and solid and beautiful. The dressing was a light layer of flavor in the background. I had squab for the main course and the skin was perfectly crisp and the meat juicy. (JUICY SQUAB! I wish I could do that.)Yellow lentils lightly spiced with cumin and chile hinted at curry and complemented the squab nicely. The rosemary-chile Naan was amazing. Fresh off the oven, warm and aromatic. The cilantro-cashew puree was OK. It didn't stand up to the bread and a lot of the flavor was lost. I tried it on its own and I suspect that the cilantro was not the most robust that week. But, BIG DEAL! We had such a great experience with lunch that we ordered desert. I had blueberry, pear, and mango sorbets. The texture of all three was perfect. The blueberry was a little too sweet, perhaps it was the liquour. Pear was amazing. It was like a perfectly ripe frozen pear. Finally, my experience with mango in restaurants is a strong, overt flavor. At mantra, the mango sorbet was subtle and sweet. The service was attentive, unobtrusive, efficient, and pleasant. Expect about 45 minutes for lunch and order wine - that was my major mistake. A crisp chenin blanc would have complemented the meal. Sun Nov 23 11:54:09 -0800 2003 0 Arrabbiato 1 785143 I had the lunch as well but was FAMISHED after. The portions were too meager. Interesting setting for sure. Sun Nov 23 15:55:40 -0800 2003 785135 0 Taniqua 1 785229 You're right, lunch is an incredible bargain here. My question is: how long can this place survive? I drop in for a drink now and again at night, and the place is almost always nearly empty. I've had some great meals here, but the French-with-subtle-Indian-touches novelty kind of wore off, and I can never talk friends into going back (it is very pricey at dinner). I hope they got their money out of it. It's definitely in my Restaurant Dead Pool. Mon Nov 24 23:14:57 -0800 2003 785135 0 MC Slim JB