Best Chaat in Austin
Chaat is one of my FAVORITE foods. I've come across some good places to get this Indian street snack, but wondering what places i might be missing out on. Aloo chana chaat is my absolute favorite version, and here are some places i've encountered something similar...
Bombay Bistro
I think this chaat is only available on the weekends during the lunch buffet, but i think it is the best chaat in austin. they offer a make-it-yourself aloo papdi chaat, which is similar to what i make at home. just use the the papdi sparingly and hold the yogurt...
Swad
they've got a good variety of chaat here. i think they use the same chole mixture on everything though, not that there's anything wrong with that. most of the chaat i've had here is pretty good, can be inconsistent at times though.
G'Raj Mahal
the papri chaat here is pretty good, it's just missing something that i just can't put my finger on...
Teji's
i've had the pani puri here and it was alright. the aloo chaat mixture was a bit on the bland side and something in it Should have been spicy... the channa bhatura was fairly good, the bhatura being WAY better than the channa part though. Samosa chaat was alright, nothing spectacular. i need to try some of their other offerings...
Curry in Hurry
They've got a huge selection of chaat here, basically a whole board dedicated to it. so i was super excited and ordered a variety... meh, it was okay. definitely missing something... Teji's pani puri was better, though didn't really care for either.
Hot Breads
They were out of chaat (or basically didn't make any) when i went there, so not sure about this place. i walked out with some of their puffs after a LONG wait, and wasn't entirely impressed. so haven't been back...
are there any other places to check out?
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Bombay Bistro
10710 Research Blvd Ste 126, Austin, TX 78759
Teji's
1205 Round Rock Ave, Round Rock, TX 78681
By abidonfood
on Apr 23, 2011 01:41 PM
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I love Bombay Express chaat. They are consisent and their items aren't overly seasoned (cannot stand overly masala-fied chaat items) . Everything seems crisp and clean. They do put a lot of sugar in the yoghurt, which some people may not like. But all together the flavors are very well balanced with spicy-sour chaat deliciousness. I usually get khasta kachori and pani puri. I liked their pav bhaji which I just tried there a couple of days ago. Of course their pav was a buttered hamburger bun, but the bhaji was good and I am not expecting fresh ladi pav in Austin. Of their chaat items, I haven't tried anything that I didn't like. (I don't care for their dosas, but since this is about chaat...)
Swad is decent. Their things tend to be oily and their seasonings are not consistent. One day their podhine ka paani will be caustic and the next time watered down and tasteless. I have also had stale crispy fried chaat things there. When it's good, it's good though. You'd think they'd have the edge on freshness since they are connected to the Taj grocery, but it isn't the case.
I didn't care for Teji's food. (But I hear their dam ki biriani is such a hot item that it runs out in the morning-it is only available on weekends-their daily menu biriani is not real, it is just gravy plus rice.) Anyhow, I will have to check out their chaat. It would be the type of place to have good chaat.
Haven't tried anywhere else, but looking forward to checking out your other recs. Quite honestly, eating Indo-Pak food in Austin can be depressing (although somehow I love Madras Pavillion when I crave South Indian, thank God for that place.) I am still working my way through places and trying to find out which places are good for which dishes.
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ooooh, Good Call! i checked out Bombay Express yesterday and ordered the papdi chaat and pani puri. I got the papdi chaat without the yogurt and it was TASTY! great combination of flavors, though i got more sweet than i was expecting. still a great chaat though. the pani puri though... i liked the pani and i liked the puri, but didn't care for the aloo channa mixture. i liked the pudina ka pani a lot though, prolly the best pani for any pani puri in town. Overall, I'd still rate Bombay Bistro's weekend chaat over this, but think Bombay Express is prolly the best place to go for chaat during the work week.
i'll stop by Hot Breads again to see if they have any chaat that day and will report back.
Yes, the Indo-pak scene Can be very depressing. maybe we should start another topic solely on where to find what... just a starter: the best Paratha can be found at Spicy Monsoon, which took over Tandoori Hut. just like my mom used to make, plus their naan is great too...
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I tried Curry in a Hurry's khasta kachori today. It was so-so but had potential. It wasn't "chatphata" enough (no oomph, as abidonfood suggested above) so I think next time I will ask for extra tamarind sauce and red chile powder. Though it was mild, it had a good combo of fillings, and it even had sour green mango, which I love. I think this may be one of the types of chaat places where you have to stand there and tell the chaat maker your specifics in order to get it the way you want it. I will definitely give the place another try. Good to know of it as an alternative to Swad and Bombay Express.
Still haven't made it to Bombay Bistro weekend buffet chaat. I hope to soon, though.
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omg, i JUST had the chaat at Maharaja Indian Cafe, the new restaurant located in the corner between Asia Cafe and Chen's Noodle House. their pani puri is the BEST in town! their green chutney (hari dhania) is spicy unlike any other in town and their tamarind chutney is very sweet, almost like marmalade, but together it's a winning combination. the pani for the pani puri was also on the spicy side and THEN they give you a hot sauce too. absolute bliss... and their papdi chaat was good too, though they overdid it a bit with the sev sprinkled all over the place. the papdi itself was also the best i've had in austin. the aloo channa mixture was good, but not as great as at Bombay Bistro. But overall, i may consider Maharaja to have the best chaat in town now... i just hope they get more business so they can stay around when i need my chaat fix.
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Oooh, I must try this. Thanks for the report.
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thanks for posting. i've been meaning to try this place ever since it was under construction.
was there anything else you had that was worth writing about?
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the first time i went, i just asked them to order whatever they recommended. the owners are from goa, so they recommended the goan fish curry and the fish fry. i'm not too familiar with goan cuisine, so can't tell you how authentic it is. they both tasted good to me, but just not anywhere near north indian food, which is what i'm accustomed to. i could taste the vinegar in the goan fish curry (kinda like you'd have in a vindaloo), but the dish overall was rather tasty. just wish there were more pieces of fish in it and something ELSE in it. but it was okay, cuz i just ate up the delicious curry with the accompanying rice. the fish fry seemed out of place to me (not indian enough in my mind), but it was rather tasty as well. the fish was perfectly cooked and moist, while having a light (non-oily) crust of semolina and indian spices. it came on a bed of raw veggies from what i can remember. they DO have north indian food on the menu also though, so i gotta check out those items...
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thanks! wasn't sure what goan dishes they would have so i'll definitely check it out.
the fish fry sounds pretty good, considering.
did you try hot breads yet?
my co-worker said it was cash only so she left, which seemed odd to me.
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I have used my debit card multiple times at Hot Breads without a problem. I have also tried the Pani Puri Chaat, which I though was good, although I haven't had much Chaat, so I don't know how it stacks up on the scale.
I also had the tandoori chicken legs, which I though were excellent.
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oh yum, i like pani puri. will have to swing by this weekend!
maybe the card reader was down or something.
i just recall they would only take cash, so she left empty handed.
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just got back from Hot Breads... the chaat was alright... i had the pani puri and the spicy mix chaat.
as for the pani puri, the puri shells and the dry aloo channa mixture were both fairly good, but the pani had a weird taste to it. i couldn't figure out what it was. so wasn't a fan overall...
as for the spicy mix chaat, the papdi were okay and it had the same dry chickpea/potato mixture with tons of diced onions and diced tomatoes. there was more tamarind chutney than green chutney, though both were fine. overall, it just seemed like it was missing something, but not sure what exactly... oh, and it definitely wasn't spicy for a "spicy mix chaat".
they DO take credit cards btw, which i've used on both visits.
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