Anyone heard of/been to an Indian restaurant near Sullivan Square?
A friend said he spotted an Indian restaurant in the vicinity of Sullivan Square, but doesn't recall the name. I've never seen one around there (but I'm not overly familiar with the locale). Does anyone have a name and any judgement of the quality? He wants to check it out but I'm wary since I've never heard it mentioned here.
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Hmm, he's probably not (but possibly is?) thinking of India Palace at Union Square....their food is great...service can be hit or miss.
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re: ginafly
andytee
Jan 29, 2008 03:10 PM
No, he's thinking of Mela. Anyone been there yet? I'd love a report!
re: India Palace - I have mostly only eaten their lunch buffet, but would not call it great food. It's fine, but nothing special. Perhaps their menu items are different? Don't think I've tried those more than once, don't remember anything special.
Mela! I am curious...
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re: andytee
yumyum
Jan 30, 2008 09:19 AM
I regularly order takeout from India Palace -- I find most of their food is very good. Nothing too off the grid like Tamarind bay's banana fritters, but better than average, IMO. Vegetarian dishes (dal, saag, veggie samosas) especially recommended, even by this meat-hound.
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re: yumyum
I agree- I really like India Palace-I've ordered take out from them for years, although lately they have been a little inconsistent in terms of quality- sometimes it's great and others solidly good. I tried Mela about two weeks ago and was not impressed- oversalted, lacking in the levels of spices that you taste in dishes from India Palace- and the samosas tasted frozen and not freshly made.
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re: deshuitres
andytee
Jan 30, 2008 06:39 PM
Have you guys (who are praising India Palace) been to Namaskar? Kebab Factory? Tamarind Bay? Bukhara? If I want Indian, I can think of many better places to go, I don't dislike India Palace, but only go there when I happen to be in Union Square and need to get lunch. Namaskar is not much farther, and much better in my opinion.
If you guys have been to the other places and think I am off base, say so and I will try India Palace for dinner again.
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re: andytee
yumyum
Jan 31, 2008 06:35 AM
I've been to Namaskar, Tamarind Bay, Diva and Bukhara. I'm ashamed to say I haven't tried Kebab Factory yet. For take-away, Namaskar is not much further and probably better, it's true, but I like to patronize my *very local* Union Square spots when I can. Or maybe I'm just lazy.
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re: yumyum
andytee
Jan 31, 2008 07:50 AM
gotcha. if i lived in union, i would probably try my best to do the same. i'm closer to sullivan on east broadway, and if i am leaving the block, i head to namaskar. i don't dislike india palace and am sure there is stuff they do well, i just would not go out of my way for it.
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re: andytee
I've been to Namaskar and it's consistently good, but I prefer the taste of the spices at India Palace a hair more, was at the Kebab Factory once years ago and remember it being great, dying to try Tamarind Bay- and where is Bukhara? I fall into the "support your local businesses" category just like yumyum- I like their take out and it's in my 'hood. I agree that none of these are THE BEST indian- I just wait for my next trip to London and INDULGE to my heart's content when I'm there.
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re: andytee
yumyum
Feb 4, 2008 01:15 PM
Hey Andy -- just saw this when it was bumped back up. Recently I've enjoyed palak paneer, navratan korma and dal makhni. The veg samosas are very good and I enjoy their breads, especially garlic nan. Anything with spinach is quite tasty and the homemade cheese is usually a good bet. As I said, it's not, like, bang your head on the table Indian food, but it's better than good and it's worth another try.
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re: ginafly
namaskar has the best buffet with all kinds of funky dishes. they give you dosas sometimes as well right at your table and they also have dishes that are a funky hybrid of indian and chinese food. i thought it sounded strange but one day at the buffet they had a dish called hakka noodles which were a curried lo mein type of thing. i am a namaskar fan all the way.
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re: mr mangia
yumyum
Feb 4, 2008 01:21 PM
Agree that the buffet at Namaskar (only been for lunch) is great. When I'm in Davis around lunchtime that's usually what I crave.
As an aside -- Chinese Indian food was featured as one of Saveur Magazine's top 100 favorite things and it seems it is found neither in China nor India .. but we are lucky to have it in our midst. I better try those hakka noodles.
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digga
Jan 24, 2008 05:03 AM
It is Mela (don't think it's related to the South End Mela). We get take-out menus from them periodically and I'm curious about it but never make it over there. The different sections of the menu have film-related names but it looks like all the usual suspects - nothing really jumps out at me. They offer an all day all-you-can-eat buffet and they have groceries and catering, too (I pulled out the menu). Looks like they serve beer, too, since there is a bottle of Taj Mahal on the front cover. Well, do report back if you go!
Mela
102 Washington St at Cobble Hill Plaza
Somerville, MA 02143›2 Replies-
re: digga
Thanks for the ID! We didn't wind up going there, because I was assuming they probably wouldn't serve beer, so that's good to know. We went to Great Thai Chef in Union Square instead, which I'd never been to before. We were quite disappointed, because I'd heard "great" things about it. I had a grilled salmon curry---the fish was overcooked, and did not come with sufficient sauce. My friend had the 'crispy Pad Thai" which was a *huge* mistake. It tasted like Crunch'n'munch caramel corn!
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re: bella_sarda
andytee
Jan 24, 2008 09:12 AM
Yeah, Great Thai Chef is not so great. If you are stuck in the area and need to eat there, some of the simpler dishes are passable, but the whole place is best avoided.
Mela - has anyone been? I live near Sullivan and had never heard of or noticed the place. Are they new? I'm assuming they are in the little mall by Cafe Belo?
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