[MSP] Himalayan Restaurant on Franklin
Last week, we went to the Himalayan Restaurant at Franklin & 24th in Seward. It's in the old Big Olaf/ El Gaucho/ Kilimanjaro space, and has been open for about a month.
We really liked it! The food was delicious, and the service was helpful, friendly, and efficient. Most of the menu seems Indian (curries and nan and basmati rice), but there are some Nepali dishes, too. I think there are Tandoori meats on the menu, but we didn't try any.
We had yak momos (a half order of 6), which were very tasty - the yak filling is worth the extra $1. They came with a tasty orange dipping sauce - I preferred the momos plain, but ate all the sauce by dipping my bread in it.
Then we had chicken curry, potatoes & asparagus, and garlic nan. Our main dishes were served with basmati rice. Both were very flavorful - lots of spices - but not too hot-spicy. We ordered our dishes medium - Mr. Tastebud tells me that they had some heat, but my burned-out palate thought they were on the mild side. (The waiter told us that "everyone can handle medium.") So they brought me a spicy red sauce to jazz up my food - I loved it with the asparagus-potato dish. But both dishes were fine as they were - I didn't need any extra heat to enjoy them.
The spicing was different from the Indian places in town. I can't describe it, but I liked it a lot. When Mr. Tastebud heated up the leftovers for lunch yesterday, I almost mugged him (even though I had already eaten my lunch and was full).
This place is a great addition to the neighborhood. I'll be back soon for a lunch of salad and yak momos!
Anne
P.S. They share a business card (front/back) with the Highland Cafe and Bakery in St. Paul. So I assume that they're affiliated...
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Himalayan Restaurant
2401 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55406
By AnneInMpls
on Jun 9, 2008 10:20 AM
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Thanks for this post, Anne. I'd read somewhere (Nancy Ngo's column, PiPress?) that the Highland Cafe and Bakery people (in the shopping center on Ford Parkway just East of where it intersects Cleveland) were going to branch out, but I don't recall if they said where. I really like the "meat" momos at the Highland Cafe and Bakery, so, it sounds like the yak momos at Himalayan are a must do. The sauce they serve with the "meat" momos at Highland Cafe and bakery is delicious--did they serve the yak momos with a similarly delicious sauce?
It sounds like Himalayan has a much more extensive Nepali menu than Highland Cafe and Bakery, which just has a couple of items, with the majority of the menu being American diner standards. Here's more on that http://www.chowhound.com/topics/417443
~TDQ
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Yes, the momos came with a very tasty sauce. I used it as a "nan dip", though - I liked the yak momos plain.
Anne
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Actually, upon re-reading your post, you were quite clear that you liked the momos plain--sorry about that. I don't know how I missed that the first time around--I guess I was excited to hear more about the delicious sauce! If it's anything like the sauce at the Highland Cafe and Bakery, I'm sure it would make a delicious dipping sauce for just about anything. Thanks again for your terrific report (for the other reports you've shared recently--it seems you've been digging up all kinds of new places lately!)
~TDQ
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Yep, you read about it in the PiPress. This is the husband of the couple that run the Highland Cafe, which in its own way is also a gem. The best of Keys and Himalayan!
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