When we entered, I was immediately taken back to my college days in Iowa City when me and my (insert hippie boyfriend here) would roll out of bed and make our way to Masala for the buffet at 11:30 am sharp. No football tailgating here. The aroma, the fogged up windows, the tablecloths-I really thought I had struck Indian pay dirt only minutes away from my home. The place is modern-much more so than any place you'll find on Devon or even Belmont or Halsted. It felt a little like the Nepalese version of Coast. Would it be as good? Hmmmm. Sad face. This place was only average in the end. We were hoping for better since our other favorite places aren't in our neighborhood (Essence of India in Lincoln Square, Tiffin on Devon and Klay Oven on Orleans). However, in an area where there is NO Indian food, this is a tasty option.
You have been served:
By........????? There were four waiters that I could see. One sat us, one asked if we wanted the buffet, one took our drink order but then we were abandoned by all of them and I had to ask the busboy to grab the mister's beer off of the bar that had been sitting there for ten minutes. It was the busboy who filled our water, took our plates and brought our check, but somehow I doubt it was him who received the tip. My question is: with all of those people working, and the customers essentially getting their own food at the buffet, what are they doing? Granted, there was what seemed to be a liquor representative teaching how to make drinks or something along those lines, so I will give them that. I will say, though, that bad service can be forgiven if the food is great. But it wasn't.
Notable Potables:
I had Masala tea, a homemade spiced tea that I was informed would take a while to make in the back. I got very excited at this because my dear friend's Mama Ji had made me tea in that manner several times and each was delicious. Ten minutes later, a different waiter brought out a tiny little teacup with some lukewarm, blandly spiced tea. For three dollars.
The mister had a Kingfisher, a good, dependable beer. But again, there was the 10 minute rule for waiting.
Sustenance:
Well, buffets are always amazing, I think. And I love Indian food so much that I can honestly say I have really only experienced bad food once(Standard India Restaurant: beware!). This food was above average, but certainly not great. We did receive fresh naan to our table and piled our plates with food. For my first course, I had rice, papadum that was nicely crisped and not too oily and pakoras. I garnished these with selections from their salad bar, and found both the tamarind and coriander chutneys to be delicious. For my entree I had Palak Paneer and Aloo Ra Simi. The palak was spiced well, and was creamy rather than watery. The paneer was good sized, too. The aloo was also pretty darn good, had a mixture of vegetables in it and appeared to be made without cream, though I don't know if it was vegan. The palak paneer is indeed on the regular menu, but I did not see aloo ra simi or papadum.
The mister had the same but also had his standard Chicken Tikka Masala and some tandoori chicken. He thought the Chicken Tikka was slightly bland and the tandoori chicken dry. It LOOKED good, but really, it didn't deliver.
Babycakes:
They brought a high chair right away and cleared a space at the table for Babycakes. Both the men's and women's restroom have a changing table. While there is no kids menu, there are lots of vegetable dishes and if you aren't eating the buffet, you can request that a meal be made less spicy. She slept the whole time and didn't eat (she doesn't have teeth yet!)
We dined at 1:30 pm on a Wednesday. There was a steady stream of customers coming in, including two other families with toddler-aged children.
Bill:
2 Lunch Buffet: 22.00
1 Masala Tea: 3.00
1 small Kingfisher: 6:00
Total with tax: 34.26
