Great Indian food in Connecticut?

[James]

Hi Bux

Personally I was hurt, and I cried for some time. Ha!

You know what Bux, your name is not in full either.

I thought I was offensive and not defensive. Probably you got hurt. Not being a regular, I am not as observant as you are about other contributors.

Not being a regular eating out type of a person, I do not know much about foods and restaurants anyways.

Your non-acceptance does not deter me from speaking what I have to - with no hint of being defensive here.

[funcook]

Will get back to Thalia in a week or so, will give you all my opinion.

Fun

[claire797]

Will get back to Thalia in a week or so, will give you all my opinion.

Fun

Please do. I need it to still be in business when I get there in July.

[Bux]

Hi Bux

You know what Bux, your name is not in full either.

James, even the most casual observer on this site will see that I sign every post with my full name. I am identified in other places on the site by my full name and members can send e-mail directly to me. I don't understand the nature of your post.

[funcook]

Please do. I need it to still be in business when I get there in July.

Edited March 16, 2003 by funcook (log)

[funcook]

the few excellent Indian restaurant meals I've had in North America, I'd say the best were at Vij's in Vancouver, the second best were at Diwan in New York (almost a tie, depending on whether you prefer the nouvelle cuisine of Vij's or the more traditional approach of Diwan), the third best were at Thali

Having been to Diwan in New York and Thali in Connecticut and quite a few Indian restaurants in the neighborhood, and upon your quote I am interested in Vij's in Vancouver any phone # ? or any other info.

Fun

[Fat Guy]

http://www.vijs.ca/

[funcook]

http://www.vijs.ca/

Thanks for the website link.

Fun

[claire797]

http://www.vijs.ca/

Thanks for the website link.

Fun

Wine marinated lamb popsicles in a fenugreek sauce????? Huh???? How did I miss the Indian Food/Popsicle trend?

[Fat Guy]

The folks at Thali just sent me the address of the restaurant's new Web site, which contains menus and photographs:

http://www.thali.com/

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks for the link Fat Guy.

[anil]

The folks at Thali just sent me the address of the restaurant's new Web site, which contains menus and photographs:

http://www.thali.com/

Very interesting - I cannot believe it that I actually spent time scrolling through their menu and found some things I'd not find in any restaurant (that I know of) in NYC.

Gotta do a junket to yale.edu

Edited May 12, 2003 by anil (log)

[funcook]

The folks at Thali just sent me the address of the restaurant's new Web site, which contains menus and photographs:

http://www.thali.com/

Very interesting - I cannot believe it that I actually spent time scrolling through their menu and found some things I'd not find in any restaurant (that I know of) in NYC.

Gotta do a junket to yale.edu

Thanks for the link fat Guy and Anil. Had a little bit of trouble getting the menu without down loading it. But finally able to open it.

Fun

[Suvir Saran]

The menu has several dishes that seem out of the oridnary compared to even the more inspired Indian restaurants in NYC.

[claire797]

Just got back from a week-long visit to New York and CT and wanted to put in my 2 cents on Thali. It was easily the best meal we had on our trip and perhap the best Indian meal I've ever eaten.

The atmosphere is relaxing and comtemporary. Lighting is subdued, colors are earthtones and the background noise is trickling water which flows across the high ceiling and drapes down into a waterfall inside the restaurant. Even the tables are fun to look at. Each one has an in-laid mosaic of seeds and Indian spices. Soaking in the ambience at Thali reminded me how important it is for restaurant's to stimulate not only tastebuds, but all other senses.

Raju was on hand to help us with the wine, and he really did seem to have a passion for pairing. He steered us toward an excellent Shiraz which complemented the food and also spent some time sharing his thoughts on Austrian wines and pairing. It was nice talking with a sommelier who really seemed to love his job.

The food was incredible. My companions were new to Indian food, so we started with some simple items like samosas and spicy tandoori wings. While it's hard to go wrong with a samosa, these particular samosa's were better than most. They were not the least bit greasy, and the potatoes were fluffy and well-seasoned. The wings were also quite good, though not terribly fiery.

For entrees, we had an expertly prepared chicken vindaloo, Andrha Curry, Malai kabab and Chicken Saag. Everthing tasted balanced and extremely fresh. My only complaint is that Thali sets the bar very high for Indian food and finding anything comparable here in Texas (Clay Pit is the closest I've come) will be difficult.

[funcook]

Just got back from a week-long visit to New York and CT and wanted to put in my 2 cents on Thali.  It was easily the best meal we had on our trip and perhap  the best Indian meal I've ever eaten. 

The atmosphere is relaxing and comtemporary.  Lighting is subdued, colors are earthtones and the background noise is trickling water which flows across the high ceiling and drapes down into a waterfall inside the restaurant.    Soaking in the ambience at Thali reminded me how important it is for restaurant's to stimulate not only tastebuds, but all other senses. 

Raju was on hand to help us with the wine, and he really did seem to have a passion for pairing.  He steered us toward an excellent Shiraz which complemented the food and also spent some time sharing his thoughts on Austrian wines and pairing.  It was nice talking with a sommelier who really seemed to love his job. 

The food was incredible.  While it's hard to go wrong with a samosa, these particular samosa's were better than most.  They were not the least bit greasy, and the potatoes were fluffy and well-seasoned. 

For entrees, we had an expertly prepared chicken vindaloo, Andrha Curry, Malai kabab and Chicken Saag.  Everthing tasted balanced and extremely fresh.  My only complaint is that Thali sets the bar very high for Indian food and finding anything comparable here in Texas (Clay Pit is the closest I've come) will be difficult.

Me too just got back from India and one of my first visits was Thali and of course after the last posting what I had seen on the gullet made me go back right away. I was very very pleased to be back and an evening full of surprises of specials at Thali.

One thing I always thought desserts Indian restaurants are a drag and I liked the efforts the chef at Thali does on specials. Their bread pudding is probably the best I have ever tasted, not to forget they are doing some wonderful choclate desserts and gelatos and sorbets.

What really impressed me were their specials, atleast to read thru and I especially thought Goan style mussels, a bread stuffed with mushroom and raisins as an appetizer and for entrees I tried their Halibut with ginger crab was outstanding (pardon me for not remembering the name).

Over all a very good experience after coming back and we shall return many many more times to Thali.

[Suvir Saran]

Thali is very close if anyone in NYC wants to sample some of the best Sea Food preparations made Indian style.

Their new owner turned chef (founding owner Prasad) is making some of the best seafood you could eat anywhere. And it just happens to be the best Indian seafood in this part of the US.

I was there with a friend who is a sea food snob, and the two of us did quite some damage sampling dishes from the dinner menu for lunch. We ate for 6 and left hungry for more. Not food, but more of the sensations that we experienced with each dish. Mussels, crab, sea bass ( ), halibut, shrimp, prawns and scallops were all prepared in ways familiar and yet new. Perfectly cooked and seasoned, the taste of the seafood was just as present as the marvel of perfectly chosen and cooked spices.

Prasad, I shall be arriving with many a friend to Thali to share your sea food dishes.

A vegetarian for the most part, sea food and beef are two things that can impress me to make a brief switch. It was worth doing so the other day at your restaurant. I was happy I did that. Thanks for sharing with us diners a wonderful plethora of Indian tastes and yet keeping the seafood light and flavorful.

And whilst I mention your menu, I must also again congratulate you for keeping on your menu your mothers chicken and lamb curries. They are wonderful and just the experience of cooking what a mother comes and prepares for customers at her sons restaurant is something wonderful. Both my guest and I left with great appreciation for what Thali is doing for the Indian food scene here in the US. I travel around the US for reasons both culinary and personal, she is a well respected food writer, and has her own travels to reflect upon, and Thali gives Indian food a new meaning and we were both surprised to find it in Connectitcut, even before one had discovered it in greater numbers in cities like NYC.

PS: I had posted the above at this THREAD in the Indian forum. It states my feedback on Thali after another very successful meal there for lunch last week.

[prasad2]

Thali is very close if anyone in NYC wants to sample some of the best Sea Food preparations made Indian style.

Their new owner turned chef (founding owner Prasad) is making some of the best seafood you could eat anywhere.  And it just happens to be the best Indian seafood in this part of the US.

I was there with a friend who is a sea food snob, and the two of us did quite some damage sampling dishes from the dinner menu for lunch.  We ate for 6 and left hungry for more. 

Prasad, I shall be arriving with many a friend to Thali to share your sea food dishes.

And whilst I mention your menu, I must also again congratulate you for keeping on your menu your mothers chicken and lamb curries. 

Suvir:

Thank you for your kind and generous comments. I love hospitality and love to feed people and friends and love to see them bellyful before they leave Thali. I am looking forward to see all your friends experience the same things you have experienced and I shall along with my staff, promise my full effort in doing so.

I must mention this to all my friends of egullet that there are couple of things I am motivated with and inspired of.

Firstly it is my mom whom I am inspired of and very thankful to her. I only, kind of execute some of her brilliant ideas, recipes and cooking methods commercially. I try and I am not afraid of doing so.

Secondly my inspiration comes from all of you, just name a few : Suvir, Monica, Bbhasin, Vikram, Peter Beck, Hemant Mathur, Rks, tryska, Fat Guy, Skchai, india chef, Sudhir Seth and all the good restaurants I visit and hear about. London is my inspiration as well, besides India of course.(Pardon me for missing many names). My inspiration comes from recognition by many a media locally and it even got bigger when I just learnt we were voted as top Indian for Westchester, NY and Connecticut as a over all score by Zagat 2003/2004. ( Not That I believe in Zagat that much).

yes, I couldn't have done much with out my moms help. Did you know all or most of my spices are all roasted by mom and blended in Indian blenders like sumeet and National blenders? All the coconut I use is freshly grated by her? Yes, she does come in to the restaurant makes that famous Andhra Chicken curry, Ghosht Banjara and lemon picles and Ginger chutneys and for Sunday Brunch all the Sambhar, coconut chutney, dosas and vadas and mmmmmmmany more goodies.

I can go on and on and on when it comes to food, I am totally passionated with.

Really looking forward to seeing you all.

[sammy]

We found ourselves in New Canaan, CT Friday night after seeing a movie. We weren't hungry for a big dinner so we thought about our options in the area. I've been wanting to try Thali since reading so many positive notices, both in the press and here on egullet, but my wife is not a fan of Indian food as most of her experiences have been in Indian restaurants where everything tasted the same (too much curry in everything). I find that to be increasingly the case at many restaurants, especially ethnic. Anyway, I begged and begged and probably promised her something in return so she begrudgingly said OK to Thali.

We were seated promptly, ordered 2 glasses of wine and perused the menu. Before we had an opportunity to order, Prasad came by (his name is on his Chef's coat so I knew it was him) to welcome us and ask if we had any questions about the menu. We had decided to just order several appetizers but had a tough time choosing as so many dishes sounded wonderful. We settled on the following:

Lasuni Dhamia Murgh-Marinated cubed chicken breast with burnt garlic and spicy coriander sauce

Shrimp Viruval-grilled shrimp with curry leaves. Hot, hot, hot!

Calamari with avocado-this was one of the specials. Definitely not traditional Indian ingrediants but an explosion of tastes

Nan with roasted garlic- Reminded me of the clam pizza at Pepe's. Abolutely great.

The service was terrific, both the food and wine. They take great care with serving appropriate wines with the food. We had a Reisling and two different Montepulicianos.

We spoke briefly about egullet and Prasad confessed that he is addicted to it, many times leaving egullet up on his computer in the office and going to sneak a peak when things slow down in the kitchen.

My wife is already making noises about going back.

[fchrisgrimm]

Has anyone eaten at the second Thali, recently opened in Ridgefield, as a motel restaurant on the Norwalk/Danbury Connector?

The location is such a contrast with the upscale setting of the original, I'm a little hesitant to try it. If the food is the same - great, but it should be less expensive for the loss of atmosphere, alone!

[prasad2]

Has anyone eaten at the second Thali, recently opened in Ridgefield, as a motel restaurant on the Norwalk/Danbury Connector?

The location is such a contrast with the upscale setting of the original, I'm a little hesitant to try it.  If the food is the same - great, but it should be less expensive for the loss of atmosphere, alone!

←

The setting is upscale, the service is formal, the atmosphere is contemporary look with beautifully appointed furniture.... The quality of the food and the menu is similar to the one at New Canaan minus the cascading waterfall.

Please read "The New York Times" review

"The New York Times" Review Aug 01, 2004

[fchrisgrimm]

I had seen the NYT review (I'm not always inspired by PB's reviews, featuring such under-whelming discriptions as "well-seasoned vegetables" - I mean whan the heck does that mean?) so would love to see a first hand endorsement from a Thali/New Canaan regular! I have a tremendous mental block on the location.

[lyagushka]

Okay, inspired by this thread, I went ahead and wrote my own review of New Canaan's Thali. I hope it will be apparent from my opinions that I'm not a shill. In a nutshell, I thought the food was good, not great or a standout in any way. Service was also good, but the noisy waterfall thing put me off. But yeah, I'd go back if I were in the area and craving Indian. There were some interesting looking things on the menu.

[fchrisgrimm]

Looking back, I only now realize that my last comment was a reply to the owner - I meant no offense!

I continue to rank the original Thali (New Canaan) as one of the three best "dining experience" restaurants in the area - with Southport's Paci and Norwalk's Meigas. It is nothing short of top notch.

But I still have a block on the second loc. Will try it for lunch or brunch sometime.

[Tracy K.]

lyagushka's review on epinion.com mentioned that it was not considered kid friendly. Would anyone else agree on that point? We'll be in Westchester next week and I really have a hankering for Indian, as most everything I've sampled on Devon Avenue in Chicago has been greasy and caused heartburn! (And I love my Vindaloo hot!!)

I have a 2+year old and a husband who runs from the mere mention of spice like the plague, although when we lived in Jersey we were often to be found at Namaskaar on Rte. 4 in Paramus.

Maybe it's just a Kingfisher I have a hankering for....