Tamarind

[Jason Perlow]

I was browsing thru the NY Times video tours and caught a look at this restaurant... how would you guys compare it to Tabla?

Tamarind Video Tour

Didn't a certain pastry chef on this site design the desserts for this?

[Suvir Saran]

Comparing Tabla and Tamarind is like comparing apples and oranges.

And no the pastry chef on this site had no connection. And that is unfortunate for Tamarind.

The very talented young lady that was helping them in the begining was treated so poorly that she left.  I am sure  they have kept her recipes and creations and are duplicating  them for retail.  She was very passionate about being at Tamarind.  It was her first job.  They could not hold on to her, sad for them but she is doing well, back in school and working where they love her.

Tamarind has basic Indian food in a nice setting. A few and I repeat a very few new dishes.  That could maybe found similar to what is seen at Tabla.

 

Tabla is French food or some food with Indian accents.

They are each very good and very unique and necessary for Indian food to make a large dent in the US landscape.

Unfortunately, the desserts are mediocre at best.  Very inconsistent and very poorly executed when done well.  

Another huge loss was the passing away of the spirit of Raji Jallepalli Reiss that was a consulting one.  While her sudden loss has left them without her consulting position, the genius Indian chef that was the back bone to their success is now in the west coast and doing well with a new restaurant in silicon valley.

So, in short, they have suffered a few set backs, but the restaurant will certainly do fine.  

Those that really know a lot about Indian food, are already complaining about the finer nuances of the cuisine being lost ever since Heman Mathur resigned.  Those that do not know better, will never know better.  

Hemants (the chef that left them) wizardry can only be experienced when you are lucky to have had a taste of his food.  There is a very small difference between a good meal and a great meal.  That comes from every little detail to perfection having been met.  And he cooked only for that goal. And he did a great job at Tamarind.  The owners seemed to care little about sharing his personality with the press. Maybe that made him leave a restaurant  that had so much promise.

It would be great if this could be a learning point for owners of ethnic restaurants to wake up and have respect for their chefs and staff.  Alas, I am told, owners need a lot more jolts before changing their old mind set.

I did a long review of Tamarind for Food Arts Magazine.  I am sure it was one of the longest retsaurant stories they have ever printed.  An ABC into Indian cooking through the food at Tamarind.  If you can get a copy of that, you may enjoy reading it.  I will see if I can find the text and post it on my web site.

[Wilfrid]

My understanding was that the original chef was a woman who had previously run a restaurant on the West Coast.  Would that be Ms Reiss, who had now left?

In any case, I have eaten there three times.  I agree it's inapprorpiate to compare it with Tabla.  It's much smaller, less showy operation, less expensive, and in some ways less ambitious.  Most importantly, Tamarind is clearly an Indian restaurant and nothing else, whereas Tabla, as Suvir Saran says, Tabla is providing more mainstream cooking with accents from Indian spices, and some typical Indian accompaniments (like their excellent breads).

My partner is Dominican and has had almost no experience with Indian food.  She generally rejects spicy food.  However, she loves Tamarind, and battles through the chili heat to demolish their tandoori quails with great relish.  I like it less, but I think it's because I pine for the UK Indian food on which I grew up, and the Tamarind stuff just tastes different to me - and why whouldn't it?  But it is a pretty restaurant, with some nice booths set back from the main floor, and service is courteous.  Worth a try.

[Suvir Saran]

The consulting chef was Raji Jallepalli Riess who is now gone.  She passed away after a short fatal bout with cancer.  She was from Memphis, TN.  And certainly was one of the first Indian chefs to make it big in the US.  She also gets credit for being the forbearers of the Indian fusion torch.  She always said to me that her knowledge of Indian cooking as the world knows was limited to restaurants.  She had grown up eating what she ate at home.  While it was food she enjoyed, it was not of any lasting importance.  She credited her own desire to indulge in food and her travels overseas that led her to experiment with her Indian heritage and fuse flavors. She was consulting with Tamarind till the day she died.  I am sure since that has been so recent; they are still at a loss of what next.

The original chef was Hemant Mathur who is now on the west coast.  Hemant is someone that takes food very seriously and each recipe that is served at Tamarind has an indelible stamp of both Raji and Hemant and their individual and shared visions.

Tamarind is nothing but an Indian restaurant.  And a very attractive one at that.  Which is a very pleasant change and the perfect direction for others to follow, even as they make the food more interesting and tasty.

[Suvir Saran]

A friend and I ate lunch at Tamarind today.  It is the Indian restaurant that had made quite a flutter when it opened last fall.

In the last couple of months, they have lost their great Tandoori master chef, Hemant Mathur to California.  Raji the consulting chef-genius passed away (unfortunate and sad loss) and their young and talented pastry chef Surbhi Sahni quit.

I went to Tamarind reluctantly, but once I got close to the entrance, I was smitten by the same charm that struck me on my first time there.  Unfortunately, the service, cleanliness and food were far from half way decent.

Also, we were the third table to be seated at lunch.  Though the restaurant certainly filled up by the time we left, I realized, that Tamarind was not the same as I had remembered.  And it should be given its name.

We were sitting atop crumbs that seemed to have collected under the table over a few days.  It was a horrible thing to know.  But the large collection of crumbs made it impossible for my eyes to ignore them.  The food came slowly, cold and poor in taste.

The service though eager to help, was far from intuitive.  I was embarrassed that at one time, I had considered calling Tamarind like many others, one of the best restaurants in NYC.  It certainly could not have been like the one today...

Any one had other reactions... Maybe I should be going back for a dinner... perhaps it is still great.  But when I went for lunch in the past, it too was great.

[Fat Guy]

Nothing is forever, especially in the restaurant business. It's one of the most frustrating aspects of writing restaurant reviews: There are but a handful of restaurants in New York that open well and maintain consistent excellence over an extended period of time. And then there is the irritating fact of life: that any restaurant in the world, no matter how fabulous, can serve a disastrous meal on any given day. Then again, crumbs under the table and a listless waitstaff tend to be endemic problems rather than hiccups, but you never know. Sorry to hear Tamarind has not stayed on its initial trajectory. And thanks for the report.

[Suvir Saran]

Believe me.. I am very sad.. I was a champion of Tamarind... today was sad... I will now have to go back.. just to see how it fares this next time.

And the sad part is... they know me.. and respect me.. .or so I think... how could such poor food have been sent to my tabel then?  Has to be really something very sad.

Maybe the management and staff are still in mourning over the unfortunate loss of Rajis life.  I can understand that.

[Pan]

Suvir:

You said that they know you. Did you express your disappointment to your waiter, if no-one else? It would seem to me that a comment to someone in a position of responsible authority (i.e. higher up than a waiter) could have been useful to convey a message, if for no other reason.

I remember the last time I went to Mingala, years ago, and had what tasted like a bad Chinese-American meal in what used to be a very pleasant local Burmese standby. None of the dishes tasted anything like they had in every previous visit. My brother asked the waiter whether there was a new chef and was answered in the affirmative. He then explained why we wouldn't be returning. The explanation may not have been useful, but my brother reasoned that it's better for them to know why they're losing business than for people to simply stop coming and cause the restaurant to close. Strangely, though, Mingala never did close...

[Steve Plotnicki]

Gee I don't know. I had dinner there on Saturday night and we thought it was fine (but I didn't check the floor for crumbs.) They still offer dishes that were out of the box for what you usually get in Indian restaurants in town and indeed we had a good lobster dish in a spicy tomato sauce. Whether it has declined, I can't say. I think it was good but never earthshattering in the first place. But then again, I'm far from an expert on Indian food.

[foodboy]

I was there in January and had an excellent Chilean sea bass on a lemon-flavored rice, topped with a great tomato-based sauce (it was a special). Have these changes occurred since then?

[Suvir Saran]

Yes I did let our server know that I was very disappointed that they could not bring our meals at the same time.  That the first plate that was served me came cold and the second plate for my guest came no less than 10 minutes later, also mostly cold.  I let be known that a table of two should not be difficult for most people to serve at the same time.  I would be forgiving if I were a part of a very large group.

It seemed to make no difference to the server.  I felt she was new and was not certain about how to handle this.  Maybe she just thought of me as a chronic complainer.  Which I am certainly not.  I actually become very docile when dining out.  Since I have owned and operated a restaurant I am keenly aware of the many problems that can easily overwhelm the functioning of a restaurant.  I try to be as low key as possible.

When the owner came to say hello to me at the table I first extended my condolences and sympathies.  We made some polite conversations and then I mentioned the food having been cold.  My mistake may have been to say that in the same breath as I said to him that he looked deeply sad.  And I asked if I could do anything to alleviate some of this sorrow.  I also inquired if I could be of any assistance in planning a memorial for Raji.  Maybe the essence of my disappointment with the food was lost in the sincere sympathy I felt for him and the restaurant.

[Suvir Saran]

There is hope for Tamarind.  

I am told through the restaurant grapevine that Tamarind has brought in a very well respected chef from India.

An old veteran Tandoori chef at Bukhaara (the temple of Northwest Frontier cooking, a restaurant in Delhi) he will certainly add to the kitchen what they lost after Hemant Mathur moved to California.  

Now that I am back from travels I look forward to going and dining at Tamarind very soon.  It holds a dear place in my heart.

[Beachfan]

after Hemant Mathur moved to California.  

Do you know where he is going?  We are in need of a very good Indian restaurant in California.

PS If you have any recommendations, let me know.

[Suvir Saran]

Hemant is at Turmerik now.

Turmerik

141 Souther Murphy Avenue

Sunnyvale, CA-94086

408-617-9100

Please feel free to ask for Hemant Mathur in the kitchen.  Do let him know that I recomended that you eat there.

They have great Wild Boar Chops served with roasted cherry tomatoes and a spiced putato puree.

[rockefeller666]

Suvir--

Just wondering what your opinion is on Banjara, on 6th & 1st.  I've personally felt that it is a wonderful place, just shy of Tamarind quality, but still reasonably priced.  If you've been there, I was wondering what you thought of the place.

[Suvir Saran]

Banjara is actually a great find.   Especially in that neighborhood.  I have been to it twice.  The food was good.  The service mediocre like one would unfortunately find even at the better Indian restaurants Tamarind included.  Maybe this is the next change that Indian restaurant owners will try to make as a group.

Banjaras chef used to be a young man from Calcutta Mr. Dutta.  I forget his first name.  Sorry.  He had trained with the Taj group of hotels in India.  He showed great promise when I first met him. He was then working on opening Tamarind in Brooklyn.  It did not stay open to long.  

The problem I had at Banjaara was  the fact that the service was terrible the nights we went.  And not just at our table.  The food was good in some cases, very good with other dishes and mediocre with some.  But far better than any restaurant I had been too many years ago on 6th Street.  Friends who eat at the 6th Street establishments said that Banjara was the winner by far.

I would be happy going back there.  It was also attractive.  What do you eat there rockefeller666?  What are your favorite dishes there?

[Pan]

Suvir:

I like Banjara and have had good service there on the 5 or so occasions I've been there, but I've also been to Guru once and liked it, too. Considering that it's owned by the owner of the Dowel spice shop, I doubt it will deteriorate, so it might be worth your while to check out when you're in the East Village and want a masala dosa.

[Suvir Saran]

I crave Dosas all the time... Where is Guru?  Street address?  Wonderful.  I have enjoyed my chats with the chef at Banjara.  He seems very passionate. And that is instelf a rare occurence in restaurants today.  I know I will be skewered about this.. but far too many chefs at least in the Indian restaurant world treat it as any other job or chore.  When there is passion involved things have a chance about being magical.

I live in west village..... Guru sounds nice... I will be there very soon.  Will let you know my humble feedback thereafter.

[Pan]

Courtesy of www.bigyellow.com:

Guru Indian Restaurant

338 East 6 Street, New York, NY 10003

(212) 979-2135

But the short answer is that it's on the south side of 6th St. something like a quarter of the way west of 1st Av.

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks.

[Bux]

I know I will be skewered about this.. but far too many chefs at least in the Indian restaurant world treat it as any other job or chore.  When there is passion involved things have a chance about being magical.

I knew someone whose first commercial kitchen experience was as an apprentice at a top French restaurant. A paid position at a very good, if one level down in terms of standing, American restaurant followed. What was noticed was a tremenous difference in attitude. At the first, food was the subject of discussions. At the second restaurant, the cooks rarely ate out and hardly ever spoke of food except as it applied to their job. Presumably the chef owners in each place were passionate, but it didn't extend to the employees in both places. For a young person just starting out, the difference in passion between the two kitchens made a significant difference.

[Steve Klc]

Suvir--did you notice that a chef from Tamarind is cooking at the Beard awards tomorrow?  Here's the link:

http://www.starchefs.com/james_b....er_beck

Is this who you heard was coming?

Methinks the publicist for Tamarind is very well connected.

[anil]

Suvir--did you notice that a chef from Tamarind is cooking at the Beard awards tomorrow?  Here's the link:

http://www.starchefs.com/james_b....er_beck

Is this who you heard was coming?

Methinks the publicist for Tamarind is very well connected.

This is not the Chef, Suvir mentioned. As I said elsewhere, time

will tell how Tamarind fares.

[Suvir Saran]

Peter is a very good chef.  But nope not the one I spoke about.

And yes you thinks right Steven.. the publicist is very well connected and NYC starving for Indian food.

Anil is right.. time will tell.. I wish I could believe all Bob lape said.  Certainly when it comes to Indian food... I have to now begin to doubt him...

Tamarind has many good things happening for it.  Unfortunately today their food is not what one will sing praises about.

A very close friend went their this last week.  I am somewhat afraid of going there... worried my food will be poisoned... maybe I am being to severe... so I asked this friend to order as I would have.  The food was mediocre.  Service spotty.  But the friend said they expected that from an Indian restaurant in America.

But should we be expecting something like that from a 2 Star restaurant???  

Do the Bob Lapes and William Grimes of food criticism have double standards when dining at ethnic restaurants?  Is that fair?  Should all 2 Star restaurants not give a diner the same level of service?  Is that wrong of me to expect?

I remember asking a veteran and well revered and respected food writer from NYC why they had not reviewed Tamarind... and their answer.. frank and brutally honest was that they ate an uninspired meal at a pretty restaurant with poor service and even worse reservation system.  While that food critic went running to eat there and more than once, the food left much to be desired, even though they were being hounded by me to eat there and the service did not match anything a restaurant as beautiful as Tamarind deserves.  This writer decided to not say anything bad... but simply be quiet.  What is better?  Two stars earned for being ethnic and so having a lower level of service.. or no reveiw earned for not being at par with other restaurants?

Tamarind still reminds me of Kama Sutra the film.  From the Indian perspective the film was poor at best.  To the western mind not aware of the intricacies of this foreign culture, Kama Sutra was wonderful.  It was largely a failure.  But certainly a movie with at least 5 minutes of magical cinematography.  I certainly felt in the first 5 minutes that I had never seen another movie so beautiful and sensuous.. but then... as the movie played on.. it was a downward spiral where the director was playing to the peanut gallery.  Tamarind opened wonderfully... and I was smitten, charmed and hooked. But Alas.. like Kama Sutra it did not last long.  

But what would the world have thought if this was not an ethnic restaurant?  Would it still have gotten 2 Stars???  Would it still be open?

[mikemkie]

HI

 Read all you had to say about Tamarind my favourite indian restaurant and I must say that you definately have something against Tamarind as I think I have been there more times than you have for sure and have never found anything of the sort you had to say every place has a bad day and Tamarind is entitled to one and I am sorry to say but my friend if you think that you are a master critic then you couldnt be more wrong when you go to a place dont expect free bees and make the mrespect you coz you write Earn the respect and never be biased and personal Im nor a critic nor a writer but just giving you a friendly advice to be fair and honest in your writings  because if it was that bad it would have never been in the Conde Nast Travellers top 50 in the world hope you'll think about what I have to say .