Indian Restaurants in Philly

[philadining]

I searched through this forum, and I didn't see any central clearing house for this info, lots of talk about suburban Indian, that occasionally strayed into downtown, and a few topics about specific places. So, let's talk about what's good IN the city.

Two interesting bits of info in the Citypaper today in Feeding Frenzy.

First: Palace at the Ben is finally open at 9th and Chestnut. It's related to the other Palace of India restaurants, which have been, in my experience, excellent. Looks expensive.

Second, the owners of Desi Village in King of Prussia (one of my faves in the burbs) have bought Dahlak on Germantown Avenue (not the original on Baltimore Ave). They supposedly intend to keep serving Ethiopian food, and add the Indian/Pakistani food from Desi Village. The mind boggles.

Beyond those new developments, what do we like?

Word is good about Tiffin.

Where else?

[KatieLoeb]

Now that Minar Palace is gone, I'm all about Tiffin. My recent take out from there was some of the best Indian I've had anywhere. And they deliver if I want. What more could a masala-jonesing girl ask for?

[Ducksredux]

Tiffin Tiffin Tiffin. Usually great, sometimes eh, rarely bleh. Samosa has good dosa. Lovash is bland beyond imagining.

[TarteTatin]

Our vote is Tiffin also. The Butter chicken is like Buttah!

The Tiffin owner, Munish, was formerly at Karma at 2nd & Chestnut.

It's still good. Love their buffet, always fresh stuff.

The Lovash owner was formerly the owner of Shivnanda, which is now Karma.

I love his coriander chutney.

Cafe Spice is a chain, and we see the Cafe Spice truck comes in a few times a week from NY.

I have to admit, the food is pretty good there too, for a chain.

And so, until next time on:

"As the Indian food world turns"...Stay tuned next thread for.....?

[Andrew Fenton]

Interesting. I didn't know that the Tiffin owner was formerly at Karma. It might explain what I've seen as a dropoff in quality at Karma. When it opened a few years back, we liked it pretty well and went a couple of times. But when we returned this fall, it was pretty bad: greasy and bland. The restaurant, too, is starting to look pretty beat up.

But I agree with the consensus that Tiffin is probably the best Indian in the city (though I look forward to trying the Palace at the Ben.) I like it; it's cheap; they deliver. It's not amazing, but it does the trick.

[mrbigjas]

The Lovash owner was formerly the owner of Shivnanda, which is now Karma.

I love his coriander chutney.

i've heard good things about lovash, but haven't been.

Cafe Spice is a chain, and we see the Cafe Spice truck comes in a few times a week from NY.  I have to admit, the food is pretty good there too, for a chain.

i like stopping at cafe spice for lunch at grand central when the timing is right. i've never been to the one here.

i like tiffin, especially their dal that's like, the brownish purplish one? it's got flavors i can't quite identify. i know how to make a couple of kinds of dal, but that one's a mystery to me and delicious. my only real problem with them is that i order them for lunch and it comes and seems like so much food, and then i start to eat it, and then it's weeeellllll, just one or two bites more, and then well, there's not that much left, i might as well finish it--and then it's food coma all afternoon.

it's kinda depressing, the indian selection here in town. last time i went to new delhi, it was like, what's the point? it was just kinda boring. maybe i'll check it out again. do a little survey of the indian joints up on 40th, see if any are any good.

[philadining]

There's been some talk that one of the existing Steven Starr restaurants might change to an Indian theme. This initially did not sound too thrilling to me, but Grub Street in NY, in an article about the sudden closing of the much loved Devi in Manahattan, mentioned in passing that Devi mastermind Suvir Saran is thought to be be talking with Starr about a Philly restaurant. Grub Street article>>

A creative, modern, upscale Indian place somewhat like Devi? That, I could get excited about...

We'll see if it happens...

[KatieLoeb]

I'd get excited too, if not for the history of big name New York celebrity chefs whose tenure at Starr restaurants were short and left little influence on the menus or the (sometimes abysmal) service in their respective establishments. What's that sucking sound you hear from 7th and Walnut? Washington Square has been circling the drain for as long as I can remember, and not a whole lot of that Samuelsson magic ever stuck or remains. Does Chef Portale ever come down to Striped Bass anymore? Chris Lee was smart enough to get out of Dodge and is winning awards for his work at Gilt. I dunno. I hope for good things for Suvir, but teaming up with SRO might not be one of them...

Perhaps if Hemant could get some independent investors and might want to enjoy the more laid back lifestyle and lower cost of living here in the city of Brotherly Love I might really get excited.

Edited August 29, 2007 by KatieLoeb (log)

[percyn]

First: Palace at the Ben is finally open at 9th and Chestnut. It's related to the other Palace of India restaurants, which have been, in my experience, excellent. Looks expensive.

A few years ago I used to frequent the Palace of India in Lawrenceville. They had good food, though no comparison to the now defunct Bukhara in Chicago, which IMHO served the best Indian food I found in the US. Palace of India had decent "Chaat" on certain nights of the week and I hope they continue to offer that.