27281 Tue Jan 06 23:45:37 -0800 2004 9 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 112106 After being closed for 2 years, Punjab Kebab House reopened last week. Any reports? Punjab Kebab House 101 Eddy Street San Francisco, CA (415) 447-7499 Tue Jan 06 23:45:37 -0800 2004 0 Melanie Wong 1 112156 Haven't been since the reopening but I remember that I really liked it before it closed. Wed Jan 07 14:45:35 -0800 2004 112106 0 felice 2 113585 Friday night in the rain, a parking space materialized in from of Punjab Kabab House at 10pm when I was looking for a late dinner. I tried the seekh kabab ($4 for two), bengan bhurta ($4.95), and plain naan ($1), plus complimentary chai. Loved it all, especially the eggplant which was finished to order. The seekh kabab was nose-runningly hot and spicy. Good stuff here. Beer is available (small bottles only), and they told me you can BYOB wine. Hours are 11:30am to 11pm, and later on weekends if its busy. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/16762#47411 Sun Jan 25 03:14:35 -0800 2004 112156 0 Melanie Wong 3 113602 Great news -- that was the closest Indian joint to my former office. Take this with a grain of namak, since Punjab was closed for so long, but before the retrofit I enjoyed the naan, aloo gobi and palak paneer (never tried any tandoori meats, for some reason). Fri Jan 30 02:13:07 -0800 2004 113585 0 squid-kun 4 113605 No garbanzo beans? (G) The eggplant was lovely, so fresh tasting and with some integrity and texture even. They told me that they bake the eggplants in advance, but then they cook the final dish to order. The faintly smoky eggplant was fully cooked, not bitter, and fell apart into long shreds. The sauteed onions had some crunch still with a sweet taste that balanced the bite of the fresh ginger pieces and the subtle spicing. Some chunks of fresh tomato were stirred in at the last minute with chopped cilantro. Also, there was hardly any oil, just a light sheen left on my plate, rather than the puddle at other places. No chilis, I liked the singular expression of ginger in this dish. Fri Jan 30 02:51:39 -0800 2004 113602 0 Melanie Wong 5 113617 I havent had good Baingan Bharta ever since I came to the Bay area. Now that you mention baking the eggplant, I guess that could be a big reason for the lack in flavor. Traditionally the eggplant is roasted whole on a naked flame ( as you would roast a bell pepper). The trick is to roast it, and capture the juices that begin to ooze out from the eggplant. That is where all the flavor is. No spices are required, not even ginger. The flavor accentuated is the smokiness of the eggplant. The next layer of flavor is the use of good old mustard oil - the fat of choice in all Punjabi food. Without it Punjabi food just doesnt taste the same. Mustard oil is very liberally used in Punjabi, Bengali and central Indian cuisine. It has a horse radish / wasabi like pungency. It is heated to a smoking hot temperature before using for any cooking purposes. This reduces its pungency. Mon Feb 16 04:11:59 -0800 2004 113605 0 Shalini Bhalla 1 112273 Punjab is GREAT. Keep in mind that this is not an upscale place at all, and it's located in a semi-seedy area on the outskirts of the Tenderloin. That said, the food is terrific, the prices are reasonable, the staff is friendly, and the renovated space is bright and clean, albeit simple. I used to go there all the time for lunch before the building closed for retrofitting, and since I found out it was open on Monday I've been back every day this week. Thu Jan 08 12:49:55 -0800 2004 112106 0 Ed Batista 2 112384 Thanks, Ed. We'll get it on the curry-dive calendar, hope you can join us then. What are your favorites? Thu Jan 08 23:53:20 -0800 2004 112273 0 Melanie Wong 3 112878 I'm a creature of habit--all I've ever eaten there is the Vegetarian Special. You get a large plate with two veggie entrees (the specific entrees vary each day, and you simply take what they give you) and rice, along with a wagon-wheel sized naan. The rice and naan are among the best I've had, and the veggies entrees are all good, although some are better than others. Wed Jan 14 16:07:10 -0800 2004 112384 0 Ed Batista 4 112929 Sounds like habit has served you well, Ed! Thanks for the input. Wed Jan 14 20:21:41 -0800 2004 112878 0 Melanie Wong