Tamarind

I have probably been to Tamarind about 5 times since they opened.  Once every year or so I get a hankering for Indian food.  The kids chose Tamarind for one of the Sunday monthly meals. 

First of all, the service is spectacular.  They couldn't be nicer.  We said we were going to share so upon serving our food, they served each of us a little bit from each entree on our plate so we didn't have to pass around.  Really nice. 

The food is spicy and the spices are intense.  Very flavorful and quite filling.  One of the best things last night was the cauliflower special.  Lightly fried cauliflower that had been doused in a tamarind sauce.  We also had chick peas that come served inside a fried dough that is puffed up.  Inside are the  chick peas, that have been cooked with onions, tomatoes and pomegranate seeds.  Really delicious.  We had both of these for an appetizer.

As for the main courses, we definitely ordered too much and we all came rolling out at the end.  We had large shrimps that had been in the Tandoori Oven, which you can watch from the open windowed kitchen, that had been marinated in yogurt and cooked with chilies and cilantro.  Simple and good.  We also went for the lamb special of the day which was different pieces of lamb served in a very spicy brown sauce.  I really liked that.  We had two chicken dishes.  One was basil chicken which was just okay and not that tasty.  The other was chicken cooked in a spicy tomato broth with Indian spices.  That was delicious.  We also went with the vegetable kabobs which are made into large like sausages.  Not that good a bit weird tasting in the mouth like mealy.  Josh had to order the cubes of cheese in a spicy tomato sauce.  Interesting.  We also had some plain nan an done stuffed with dried fruit which was sweet and tasty.  The sweetness of the bread sucked out the spiciness in the mouth.

It is always a bonus to go to an Indian restaurant and see many tables filled with Indians.  I would have loved to see what they were ordering. Like going to Chinatown and finding a restaurant where you are the only person there that isn't Chinese.  Tamarind is always packed and always has plenty of Indians and they have been open for years.  A very good sign.

Some hits, some misses but I will be happy to go back when I get the hankering.