India Grill opened on the Friday before Hurricane Jeanne hit Tampa Bay. This inauspicious beginning was followed immediately by power outages and a slight décor snafu that resulted in prints of antique German etchings remaining on the walls. "It's in remembrance of the restaurant's previous incarnation," one server told me, tongue firmly implanted in his cheek. (Actually, when the restaurateurs tried to take the prints down, they found the plaques so firmly affixed to the walls that it was impossible to remove them without causing major damage. Tenacious little buggers.) As a result, the only nod to Indian ornamentation is a lone Tantric tapestry on the wall above the bar. What India Grill lacks in atmosphere, it more than makes up for in edibles. The $6.95 lunch buffet runs Monday through Saturday and features almost a dozen entrée options. Though some buffet offerings change daily, classics like naan, tandoori chicken, butter chicken and curry are almost always on the list. And vegetarians can rejoice as well, for like most Indian restaurants, this one has a smorgasbord of dishes that are entirely PETA-approved (and $8.95 a pop). The buffet is a great place to get a sampling of the restaurant's goods.
Sampler platters are sprinkled throughout the regular menu. Our server recommended the vegetarian appetizer platter ($6.95), which featured a few large (if slightly greasy) vegetable samosas, crispy spinach and onion fritters called pakora, and homemade cheese (similar to fresh mozzarella) fried in a garbanzo bean batter. The spread was served with a sweet and tangy tamarind sauce, and a mint chutney that surprised me with intense, fresh herbs and a refreshing, but not too minty, flavor. (For those of you unfamiliar with this dip and fearing a toothpaste taste, never fear; it's more like basil pesto.) The crispy lentil papadam wafers came with another choice chutney. This one was a fiery red onion concoction that, like garlic, is best enjoyed by the whole table.
To cool my throat after all the chutney, I sampled a mango lassi. The bright orange, tangy yogurt beverage was thicker than most, and served in a diminutive glass. And yes, they do charge for refills (it's not a Coke, people). Indian Grill also serves a small selection of wine and beers, as well as traditional chai tea, which is not quite as flavorful as the Americanized Starbucks version (and not as expensive, either).
For dinner, we ordered another sampler dish of tandoori ($12.95), which included boneless chicken tikka marinated in yogurt, minced lamb kebabs, spicy and enormous fresh Gulf shrimp, and the classic bright red tandoori drumsticks. The food arrived at our table on a sizzling skillet with onion slices and green peppers. Blink and you'll think they are fajitas. My favorite item on the platter was the delicious fresh shrimp, though the grilled lamb meatballs were an unexpected and delightful addition. If you are a fan of tandoori chicken, then India Grill's will fit the bill, as it was nothing more or less than I've ever experienced with that particular style of cooking.
I tried a dish of the lamb biryani ($9.95), an Indian take on Asian fried rice with, as my server put it, "much bigger lumps of meat." Already flavorful basmati rice, infused with highly aromatic saffron as well as other herbs and spices, was simmered with large chunks of lamb's meat. Though on the pricey side for a dish that was mostly rice, there was enough food on the plate for two people, and the well done but still moist and tender lamb kept me satisfied.
My favorite dish on the menu was, without a doubt, the magnificent paneer makhani ($8.95). The same homemade cheese used earlier in the pakore appetizer was simmered in a fabulous creamy tomato sauce called makhani. Since this is India Grill's most obvious strength, it's fortunate that there are "makhani" options available all over the menu: fish makhani ($12.95) is a lesser-known option, but apparently the vegetable and daal (lentil) makhani (both $8.95) are two of the restaurant's biggest sellers. And little wonder, since the simmering sauce was a revelation of slowly infused spices. The dish was served on a candlelit warming tray, and we ate our cheese-and-tomato mixture with hunks of Punjabi naan ($2.50 a basket). The fresh garlic and herbs with which the flatbread was stuffed only added to our enjoyment of the makhani, though basmati rice is also served on the side.
Most entrées at India Grill are available at mild, medium and hot spice levels, and the descriptions are very accurate. I found the "medium" dishes had a good bite, but nothing that would send you running for the fire extinguisher. In addition, though there were no beef items on the menu, notes beneath the lamb curry section indicated that beef was an available substitute.
It is interesting that my favorite dishes were the ones that reminded me most of the cuisine of other cultures. The biryani was similar to fried rice, the makhani was like a perfect Italian tomato sauce, and the sizzling tandoori platter a bit reminiscent of fajitas in presentation, if not in flavor. But I believe the best way to introduce someone to a new cuisine is to begin with the foods they find most recognizable, and it is a skill for a restaurateur to be able to make even the most unfamiliar items seem as comfy as old favorites. You can always hit them with the hard stuff later. And though Indian is hardly the most exotic genre on the block these days, I know plenty of people in this red state of ours who are reticent to try anything their mamas didn't make.
India Grill has had a tough opening, but aside from a smattering of Bavarian wall hangings, it's well placed to be another excellent restaurant in vibrant downtown St. Petersburg. With excellent service, a rocking buffet and a menu featuring familiar favorites as well as a few dishes destined to join the ranks, India Grill has what it takes to weather the storm — category three and otherwise.
Freelance writer Diana Peterfreund dines anonymously and the Planet pays for her meals. She may be contacted at diana.peterfreund@weeklyplanet.com. Restaurants are chosen for review at the discretion of the writer, and are not related to advertising.
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2004.