Finding Indian Food in Jersey as good as NYC

[TongoRad]

Curlz

Globjobs are great, man! I think I had one once...but I think you're talking about Gulab Jamon (although you seem to have described Rasmali). I like that as well (And happy New Year, btw, great way to celebrate it, definitely my speed.)

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I've been following this thread because I live in the Northern Valley and so far have found no real exceptional Indian Restaurants within a reasonable driving distance. Kinara has been on my 'to do' list for a while now and I'm definitely going to have to make a better effort to get down there.

I'm really glad to see that Indian Chinese has made it to Bergen County. I actually had an opportunity to go to Dragonel recently (jury duty) but they were closed on Monday. D'oh! Hackensack is easier for me to get to than Edgewater so I'll get there eventually.

A Taste of India on the Teaneck/ Bergenfield border has been my fallback option lately. They're good, and they make more than a passable attempt to include some of the typical Southern Indian items on the menu, but I get the feeling that they are holding back on the spicies in the kitchen. No real comparison to what is available in Edison, or even Hicksville (Long Island), though. But things do seem to be moving in the right direction here in Bergen.

Anything that steps outside of the conventional Indian Restaurant template tends to hold a bit more weight with me, whether it be Southern Vegetarian, 'homestyle' (which is what I've heard about Kinara), or Indian Chinese, but quality matters too (of course).

Ironically, with my current lifestyle, it is easier for me to access the restos in Hicksville than Hackensack (ain't that a kick!). But any other recs would be greatly appreciated.

[Curlz]

...but I think you're talking about Gulab Jamon (although you seem to have described Rasmali). I like that as well  (And happy New Year, btw, great way to celebrate it, definitely my speed.)

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You're right, Tongo! Today it hits my brain--globjobs (Gulab Jamon--if you say so) are in syrup--this was in milk--so I'm sure you're correct that it was Rasmali. Thanks for the clarification!

[waves2ya]

Indian food is near & dear to my heart, having spent some time in college in London, so I'm here to add to the chorus of folks who have found great Indian food in North Jersey (as opposed to, say, a mille feuille).

Wazwan is wonderful - albeit Kashmiri cuisine - with subtleties differentiated from more commonly found Indian fare - and, another review.

I'm here to bang a drum for Moghul...

Moghul Restaurant

Address: 1655 Oak Tree Rd # 195, Edison, NJ 08820

Phone: (732) 549-5050

...in Edison. Meal a couple of weeks ago was simply amazing (this from an avid Indian hound - London, NY, Queens and always looking).

Samosa's perfect, not greasy, and loaded w/ potato, peas, herbs, a bit of nut - crammed with taste. Main dishes were a signature goat dish, kind of like goat roghan gosht and a tandori chicken dish not on the menu (called, I think, 'tikka aca'); just heaven sent. Tandori dish reminded me of NYC's old Bukhara and goat dish - the best of any roghan gosht I could remember. Even the onion naan was perfect. Everything exceeded my expectations, thankfully - I can't wait to return.

Btw got lucky w/ a table for two at 8p as restaurant had customers coming in all evening - many Indian - and I can only imagine how crowded it gets in season.

Hey - they even served paan!

ps - tried 'Karma Kafe' too...

Karma Kafe

Hoboken

505 Washington St. (bet. 5th & 6th Sts.) Hoboken, NJ, 07030 (201) 610-0900

Good food - but not Moghul (esp. not for service...)

Edited September 17, 2004 by waves2ya (log)

[Curlz]

Have to agree with you about Moghul, although it's been a couple of years since I was last there. But I think I had the goat roghan josh you mentioned, and as I recall, it was wonderful. As for Karma Kafe, that was the very first place where I ate Indian food, but I've not been back since discovering India on the Hudson. At the time, they were owned by the same people, but I'm not sure if that's still the case. All I know is that the kitchen, chef, and maybe the seasoning of the pots and pans and tandoor just wasn't on par with IOTH, and my then-b.f. loved IOTH more, so that's where we continued to go. I commented last night that it's a good thing for me that it's not closer to where I live, b/c I bet I'd be there or doing take-out 3x a week!

[ghostrider]

Btw got lucky w/ a table for two at 8p as restaurant had customers coming in all evening - many Indian - and I can only imagine how crowded it gets in season.

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Exactly when is the Indian food season?

Please advise as I always prefer to avoid the crowds.

[emilymarie]

I love Indian food, though I had never tasted it before shipping off to college in NYC. After that, I was hooked.

And since I am always craving the stuff, I am always in search of a good restaraurant, which I have yet to find. Thought I would comment on 2 places I've tried. First is Udupi Village: Nothing special but a good enough standby close to my house. I say good enough because of inconsistencies in the food. For instance, the papadam would sometimes come out not crispy enough. Samosas would be good, plump packages of potato, spices, and peas, but slightly greasy, not to mention the fact that the service is sometimes slow and seemingly confused. And I love mango lassis (though they are just delicious sweet, mango shakes, I can't resist them). The lassies I've had at Udupi (both plain and mango) were too sweet.

Do restaurants usually use freshly-ground mango in these? Or packaged mango puree?

I recently tried Taj Palace and thought the food was passable but also that both chicken dishes I sampled (Chicken Pishawri and Makhani) lacked the depth of flavor and the richness I love. The sauces on both seemed slightly watery. Onion kulcha was nice, though, with slightly charred edges.

I'm going to have to try India on the Hudson and Moghul based on everyone's reviews here.

[waves2ya]

Exactly when is the Indian food season? 

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I'd venture a guess that as the weather cools, more folks eat Indian. Not me, mind you - I'll eat it any time - but really spicy food on hot days, well, it can be a sweatfest.

Which bring me to another thing Moghul got right and is elusive at your run of the mill Indian joint; it's spicy, full flavored heat creeps delightfully upon you. A gut check of good Indian, for me, is how the spices manifest their presence - hot on the brow, on the tongue, or the full body glow of the real culinary deal. Moghul (at least that night) hit the right notes.

Fair number of NY plates in that lot of theirs, too...

[ghostrider]

I recently tried Taj Palace and thought the food was passable but also that both chicken dishes I sampled (Chicken Pishawri and Makhani) lacked the depth of flavor and the richness I love. The sauces on both seemed slightly watery. Onion kulcha was nice, though, with slightly charred edges.

I'm going to have to try India on the Hudson and Moghul based on everyone's reviews here.

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When we were at Taj Palace last month, the Chicken Pishawri was anything but watery, not even slightly. Based on your & other diners' comments, it sounds like their kitchen is becoming uneven. Ah well.

waves, Moghul does sound like it's worth the drive, thanks for your detailed comments. One of these days....

If anyone wants to sample the street food version of India On The Hudson, Hoboken is having its second arts/music fest of the year on Sunday.....

Of course, all of the Hoboken Indian places band together to set up booths for that event & they all offer the same food (I think someone mentioned that the same person owns them all, as the evidence seems to indicate), so I don't know which kitchen actually prepares the food. Anyway it's a nice change from the usual Italian sausage.

[tommy]

Of course, all of the Hoboken Indian places band together to set up booths for that event & they all offer the same food (I think someone mentioned that the same person owns them all, as the evidence seems to indicate), so I don't know which kitchen actually prepares the food.  Anyway it's a nice change from the usual Italian sausage.

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it will also be a nice chance to catch the Fleshtones as well as Eric Burdon and the Animals. free no less.

[waves2ya]

Hoboken is having its second arts/music fest of the year on Sunday.....

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That's a.. hot date, baby! (desperate to keep this on topic)

Thks for the info - here's some info (midpage; Fall Art & Music Festival)...

http://www.hobokeni.com/festivals.asp

[Curlz]

And of course, where is my cooking group meeting on Sunday afternoon? In Hoboken. Parking will be a CHARM.

[ghostrider]

Support mass transit & take the train! That's what I'm doing.

Of course if your cooking group is at the north end of Hoboken, things get trickier....

[scott123]

Well, I finally made it to the Chand Palace Tuesday night buffet favorably mentioned a few times in this thread. I was very dissappointed. Only one gravied meat dish in the whole joint. Out of the 6 other main courses there were some glaring omissions:

No spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, beans or paneer. Out of 7 dishes, 2 were meat (chicken makhani/chicken tikka) and 5 were starch - veggie kofta, potatoes, macaroni, a pea dish, and a carrot dish. And of course, there was bread and rice. Starch as far as the eye can see. The chicken tikka was moist, cooked through (a rarity), and yet had a strong lighter fluid taste to it. The chicken (white meat) in the chicken makhani was dry and tough. The gravy was mediocre at best.

The macaroni dish was the biggest insult. As much as I applaud fusion cuisine, adding one more starch dish to this nutritional nightmare was just insult to injury. I'm not expecting Atkins awareness, mind you. Just a little food group variety is all I ask.

Maybe I caught them on an extraordinarily starchy day. I'm sure the non meat dishes change from week to week. The biggest disappointment, though, was the single solitary gravied meat dish. I'm pretty sure that's standard fare. This scant offering is unforgiveable for a lunch buffet, no less a dinner buffet, where your options should increase, not decrease. I'd like to think this behavior was just lack of respect for their carnivorous clientelle. Unfortunately, I think it goes deeper than that. The missing green veggies/cheese is indicative of some major cost cutting. Starch is dirt cheap. It's all about giving the customer the least possible value for his/her money. At least that's how I see it.

Edited October 7, 2004 by scott123 (log)

[Curlz]

Thanks for saving me the trip, Scott! Not sure where you live, but if you're in/close to Morris County, I'd recommend you try Saffron on Rt. 10 in East Hanover. I was VERY impressed by their buffet when I went last month--lots of different lamb, chicken, veg and non- dishes, and I can honestly say that there was almost too much to choose from! For $9.95 a person.

[scott123]

Saffron is very good but they were a little inconsistent the two times I was there. Once they spilled black pepper in the chicken dish (at least it tasted like it was an accident) and the other time the saag was scorched (probably not in the kitchen but on the buffet table). They do show a huge amount of potential, though. The saag, although burnt, looked like fresh greens (a rarity) and the chicken was cooked masterfully both times. Even with the mishaps, they're definitely in my top 5 favorites.

[Rachel Perlow]

As long as we're talking Morris County, you should check out the Moghul Restaurant at 35 Morris St, Morristown (973-631-1100). I haven't been to the Edison location, but if it run by the same people as the one who own the Moghul in Morristown, I'm sure it's great. We loved going to Moghul when we lived near Morristown. It had a fabulous lunch buffet and unique and high end a la carte offerings at dinner.

[scott123]

As long as we're talking Morris County, you should check out the Moghul Restaurant at 35 Morris St, Morristown (973-631-1100). I haven't been to the Edison location, but if it run by the same people as the one who own the Moghul in Morristown, I'm sure it's great. We loved going to Moghul when we lived near Morristown. It had a fabulous lunch buffet and unique and high end a la carte offerings at dinner.

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A family member went for the Sunday buffet recently and was overwhelmed by the massive number of choices. I've been there a couple of times for dinner over the years and thought it was okay. From the description of the buffet, though, I'm looking forward to giving it another try. I believe Sunday's buffet is a special offering and costs more (around $13). Hey... tomorrow's Sunday...

[Rachel Perlow]

It costs more than the average Indian buffet, but is definitely worth the difference.

[wfnugent]

Mmmmm Moghul Express for lunch. If I hit the lights right, three minutes from the office. Watch them make my chicken dosa through the window. People have been abducted by UFOs smaller than this dosa. So good, such a good value. I've read about it here and elsewhere, looked it up on the net a dozen times, I can't believe I waited so long to actually make the trip.

They have a regular customer now. White Rose, White Diamond, Galloping Hill, Syd's and others may see a marked drop in revenue.

[TongoRad]

A couple of recent experiences at Indian restaurants in Bergen County:

We went to A Taste of India in Bergenfield on New Years Eve weekend. I really want to like this place, I really do, not only because it's close to my house but because it seems like they're trying to be a notch above everything else in the area. But they have a maddening tendency to pull their punches as far as the spicing of their dishes is concerned. I also think we may have ordered poorly on this particular occasion- my wife was in the mood for a 'greatest hits' kind of dinner so we got the Lamb with Spinach, the Tandoori Mixed Grill (or whatever they call it), and Aloo Gobi.

Nothing was exceptional, and the lamb certainly could have been more tender. Some of the tandoori items were surprisingly good- particularly the Chicken Tikka. Instead of cutting the breast they place the entire thing on the skewer, rolled up, and cut it afterwards. It was tasty and juicy. The aloo gobi had a watered down quality, almost like they didn't adjust the seasoning properly in their attempt to make a curry sauce out of what normally is a dryish dish.

I have had better meals there, though, and now I am of the mind to stick to the Southern and Goan dishes. And plead with them to spice it up. The iddlies, Sambar, Goan Shrimp, Coconut Soup, etc., have always been successful little add-ons to my orders but from now on I'm going to make that the focus of my ordering and see how it goes.

...and in the other corner...

I finally made it to Kinara last week, albeit for the buffet lunch, and as loathe as I am to judge a place based on the buffet, it was immediately apparent that they are operating on a completely different level. Many great dishes indeed.

In fact, the Sarson ka Saag was magnificent. Fresh, unblanched, spinach flavor up front balanced nicely with a rich and vibrantly spiced sauce. The Kerala Mushrooms was another big winner. The Chicken Jalferzzi was too mild for my taste but, since it was the only meat dish offered, I suspect that this was purposefully done to make it more accessible (I could be all wet on that theory, though, but the mildness did seem out of place). But...it was served on the bone, which is always a good sign. And even the pickles at the salad bar had a homemade quality.

I also loved the Masala Tea, and this is a place where I give props for having a gentle touch. Too many times I have been assaulted with an overpowering perfume of crushed cardomom seeds in the tea. Not here. There was a really nice balance between the tea (which may have been Darjeeling, but don't quote me on it, the wait staff was too busy for me to verify) and spices.

Overall a great first impression.

[jb_973]

Mmmmm  Moghul Express for lunch. If I hit the lights right, three minutes from the office.  Watch them make my chicken dosa through the window.  People have

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Second on the chicken dosa. I'm sitting at my desk right now munching on one. Delicious - the filling is really well spiced. Of course, the only issue is that I can't step foot in Moghul Express without picking up some Kalakand :)

[JohnnyH]

As long as we're talking Morris County, you should check out the Moghul Restaurant at 35 Morris St, Morristown (973-631-1100). I haven't been to the Edison location, but if it run by the same people as the one who own the Moghul in Morristown, I'm sure it's great. We loved going to Moghul when we lived near Morristown. It had a fabulous lunch buffet and unique and high end a la carte offerings at dinner.

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I live in Morristown and have eaten at Moghul a couple of times. Yes, the food is undeniably good. What pissed me off, though, is the fact that their entrees don't come with rice -- at least not if you're taking out; not sure about the dining room -- you've got to pay extra for it. And pay through the nose -- $5 for plain old white.

Left me with a very bad taste.

[waves2ya]

Have eaten a couple of times at favorites in these threads...

Thank you kindly for guidance to Saffron -

249 Route 10 East,

East Hanover, NJ

Ph.#: (973) 599-0700

Fx.#: (973) 599-9444 -

...which everything other nested reviews said it would be. The Kashmiri Subz Biriyani was unbelievable - and Onion Bhajia perfect. Can't wait to return (had the Nawabi Chicken ke Tikka as principle platter - an excellent tandori treat).

In another Indian adventure, made my way to favorite Moghul in Edison - and was surprisingly disappointed. The restaurant was full of Indian folk (a Sunday night), we had a poor table and were roundly ignored. The topper was a goat Rogan Ghost which was all bone and no meat (yes - I've had goat many times and know what to expect). Upon mentioning to our server, his reply was a downcast 'sorry' and a bill quickly presented by the busperson.

Good to now know Saffron is available!

[Curlz]

Glad you like Saffron, Waves! If it wasn't for eG, I certainly never would have known about it... Have you been for the lunch buffet yet? It will really blow your mind; I still don't know of another Indian restaurant with that many offerings for so little $$!

[Jason Perlow]

Indian Chef in the International Food Warehouse in Lodi is great for Tandoori and Dhosa items. They are also opening a full service restaurant, Tandoori Chef, in Hackensack in the old Dragonel and Dhaaba space. They were supposed to open last weekend but they were waiting on the C/O, so it may be opening this week if not already open.