Pakwan: Curry and Belgian Beer Report

[Victoria Libin]

A group of 9 hounds got together last night (Monday November 17) at the 16th street Pakwan location.

A few of us were looking forward to the Nihari, but they had run out so we ordered the following instead:

1) Selection of tandori which included, seek kebabs, lamb chops, chicken thighs and legs, and tilapia. The seek kebabs were the best of this lot and had an ideal spicing and were quite juicy. They were as good as Shalimar's and perhaps a bit juicier in my opinion. The lamb chops had a mushy texture and Shalimar's were much better. The chicken was a draw in my opinion. The fish was a bit overcooked, but nicely spiced.

2) A selection of meat curries including: Chicken achar, lamb koftka in a vidaloo curry, lamb curry. The lamb koftka was excellent with nicely textured lamb meat balls in a well spiced vindaloo curry with potatoes. The sauce of the chicken achar was also excellent with the blond mild peppers. The lamb curry was also good, but not as remarkable as the other two meat based curries.

3) For vegetarian curries we tasted: Aloo Saag, Bharta Pakwan Style, lentil daal, vegetarian koftka, saag paneer, a pepper curry, and chaana daal. The favorites were the pepper curry which was made with the same peppers as the chicken achar in a tamarind curry; the saag paneer; and the vegie kofta which had a deep smoky tomato yogurt curry sauce. The other vegetarian curry were really solid.

4) Naans. We ordered over 12 naans and a couple of keema naan (ground lamb). The naan varied batch to batch. Some were perfect with a slight crispy bottom and a very tender texture, some were a bit underdone and some were a bit overdone.

Overall, we gave Shalimar an edge for tandoori and meat curries, with the lamb koftka vindaloo being the exception, and we gave Pakwan an edge for the vegetarian curries. Melanie and I believe that while meals at both Shalimar and Pakwan are always solid, there is always some variation depending on who is responsible for the tandoor, etc. so luck plays a factor on exactly how good any dish will be any given day at either place.

Someone else took notes on the beers and I hope everyone chimes in with their opinions.

[nja]

"Please don't bring me to these chowdowns anymore."

Thus pleaded my girlfriend Erika after the 20th plate of Indian food was handed to her. It's too easy to overeat when you've got good food, great beer, and enthusiastic company. But as at Shalimar, we ate far, far too much. The day after the Shalimar dinner I had a glass of water and an apple for breakfast, ate nothing else all day, and went to sleep still stuffed. Today I had a cup of tea for breakfast, a small salad for lunch, and at 4:30pm I still feel as though I have just walked away from a feast. So much food.

On the other hand, $20 for four meals is hard to beat.

My favorites at Pakwan were the vegetarian tamarind curry (afterall, sopping up the sauce after the meat is gone is the best part of Indian food, this simplies the process) and the chicken achar. I did not like the whole yellow chiles in those two curries at all though: no chile flavor but plenty of bitterness from the seeds and ribs. Consider them garnish. Erika's favorite dishes were the saags: good renditions of the very cooked-down/stewed variety (where as Shalimar was of the fresh spinach kind). I thought the kabob was mildly seasoned which really highlighted the flavorful, juicy meat. It was the Alice Waters approach to seekh kabob, whereas Shalimar's was more heavily and thoroughly seasoned and had a smokey, crunchy crust; both excellent but of different styles. The naan were uneven--some were almost cracker thin toward the center while others were thick and doughy; but on average they were pretty good.

Pakwan turns out some respectable Indian food. The Mission location is also far, far, FAR better than the FiDi branch on Clay. Overall though, I give the edge to Shalimar.

-Nick

[Melanie Wong]

Ditto. I was actually in pain when I stood up from the table. Canchito might have wondered why I was walking so slowly. At the time, I didn't think I ate that much. But I was uncomfortable enough that I couldn't sleep. Nothing to rival your weird dreams though. (g)

This was my first time to this location of Pakwan. Like everyone else, I wasn't that impressed by the tandoori items. Seekh kabob was the best of the grilled meats. Shreesh gave us a good tip on how to recognize the tandoor master and when it's best to order...but I don't remember.

The lamb kofta was very tasty and I enjoyed it. But when someone told me it was a vindaloo curry, it was quite a pale version of that fiery sauce. So, just ignore its name and enjoy it as is.

I was very happy with the vegetable curries. The malai kofta is my favorite dish at Pakwan, and it was as good as ever on this night. The achar tamarind sauce with pepper was a standout, complex and fruity. I also liked the eggplant a lot.

The sauce itself on the achar chicken was delicious. But the chicken meat seemed like an afterthought, just thrown in and not integrated. The straight sauce with the pepper garnish is a better choice.

Somehow we keep forgetting to order chicken tikka masala.

[Canchito (J. DiStefano)]

Let the truth be known -- I didn't notice that Melanie was walking so slowly when we left. This was largely due to the combined efect of a pepper and Belgian yeast overload!

Eat on,
Canchito

[Melanie Wong]

Hope you enjoyed your introduction to the fast food, dhaba-style, although I admit the weight of all those bottles slowed us down considerably. (G)

Many thanks to Victoria for such a fun night!

Link: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi...

[jo - d]

Not knowing enough to just say "no", I was volunteered
to report on the Belgium Beers that accompanied the Pakwan dinner. In order of appearance with random quotes thrown at me from around the table.

1. Chimay Red: solid, sweet, licorice on palate
2. Gueuze Lambec: (naturally fermented, with second fermentation) sour, like vitamin c, lemony.
Perhaps a good match with the fish..
3. Chimay Blue: smooth and sweet, complete, well rounded, voluptuous
4. Affligem suffered by following the Blue
5. Delerium Tremens : delicate, creamy, sl citrus with sharp, bitter finish
6. Chimay Cinq Cent : a triple for what its worth.
slightly off balance, too sweet
7. Urthel: fruity, though cloying at the finish
8. Maredsous (triple) balanced and a stand out in that we could still taste something after 7 plus bottles
9. Trapiste Rochefort: like dessert, rich, chocolatey
undertones

[nja]

Thanks for taking notes.

A few clarifications on the beers that I brought so that others can find them. They were both bought from Plumpjack Noe Valley:

#2, the gueuze lambic, was "Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene." It took me several minutes of studying the label to decipher that information. The cost was about $9 for a 750ml bottle. This was the only lambic I could find that wasn't fruit flavored. Here are some descriptions from ratebeer.com:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/ShowBeer.asp?BeerID=346

#9, the quadruple trappist, was a "Rochefort Trappistes 10." This was an expensive bugger, at $9 per 330ml bottle. It is also 11.3% alcohol. From ratebeer:
http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/ShowBeer.asp?BeerID=2360

Opinions...

The gueuze (#2) (which is a blend of older and newer lambic that experiences secondary fermentation that creates champagne-like fizziness) was very tart and citrusy. It tastes far more like a fruit cider than a beer. I've never had a lambic before so I have no basis for comparison, but it was rather shocking to drink when I was expecting beer. I went well with the spicy Indian food, though (in fact, I'd say it made the most harmonious match of the lot).

The Chimay Blue (#3) showed surprisingly well against a stable of excellent beers. Since it's so widely available, it would make a great "house Belgian beer." As if I need another "house [anything]."

The Delirium (#5) was my favorite from beers #1 to #8 (the Rochefort is so different it doesn't make sense to compare it with the rest). I thought it was the most well structured and complete beer.

The Rochefort (#9) was a thing of beauty. I must thank the folks on the NY board who mentioned it (also mentioned in that thread was Westvleteren #12, which was not in stock). Full of sweet, dark fruit aromas and smells. And so, so smooth.

-Nick

Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[jen maiser]

Does anyone know where the Maredsous was purchased? That's my favorite, and I have only been able to have it at Chez Nous and Suppenkuche here in the city ...

Would love to buy some for home.

[nja]

BevMo

[Melanie Wong]

Jon, thanks so much for answering the call and "volunteering" to keep track of our drinking and soliciting comments. It was a pleasure to meet you.

My preferences are pretty similar to Nick's. I had wanted to open the Chimay Red first, to give us a standardized taste/style as a calibration point. However, the aspirin-like tartness of the Gueuze was heightened even more to near painful levels of sour following the sweet and rich Chimay. But I stuck with it, and found it indeed a good match for the tandoori fish.

I loved the layers of flavor and complexity of the DT with high notes and bass tones. Very special. I also liked the Maredsous quite a bit but at that point in the night, don't recall anything about it!

It had been a while since I'd tasted all three Chimay bottlings side-by-side so it was fun to do it again. The Chimay blue continues to be my favorite for the fullness of it, and I like the more refreshing character of the red too. The white label falls out for me. I bought all three at Trader Joes: Red-$5.99, White, $6.49, Blue-$6.99.

The Rochfort was a special treat for dessert. Truly the Malmsey of beers.