India House
In scouting out the Minneapolis Indian restaurant scene before my visit, I knew that I had a number of good choices ahead of me. I had India House on my mind, so when I invited a colleague to join me and she said "India House" I knew it was a good sign. Then, earlier that afternoon, I walked past the restaurant and there were such fabulous smells coming out the door, well, it was a done deal.
Sunday night was a quiet night at India House and we were taken to a nice booth with plenty of room. There were some interesting choices on the menu, particularly in the appetizers.
After some negotiations (my friend isn't a big lamb person), we settled on the Paneer Pakora as the appetizer (this was a new dish to me and I was curious to try it), Palak Paneer, and Chicken Vindaloo as entrees, along with rice and an order of garlic naan.
The Palak Paneer turned out to be five log-shaped pieces of paneer, dipped in pakora batter and fried, served with a sides of sauces. An interesting dish, tasty, but a little went a long way. Splitting with a larger group would have diluted some of the sameness of it.
The Palak Paneer was good, mildly seasoned and fine, but nothing exceptional. The Chicken Vindaloo on the other hand was quite interesting. Served in a more yellow than red sauce, there were undertones of vinegar in a pleasantly light sauce. An excellent dish.
Overall, however, I was a bit disappointed in India House.
I'm not sure if it was the disconcertingly large size of the dining room, too much fried paneer, or the average Palak Paneer. More visits could change my mind and up my rating, especially if the Chicken Vindaloo keeps hitting such a high note!
Meal: Dinner
Rating: ***
Date: 5 April 2009
Address: 1400 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55403
Website: http://www.indiahouseeatstreet.com/
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