The other day my friend and I decided to check out Karavalli's buffet lunch. I was definitely tempted by the price, all you can eat buffet for ten dollars! I had been to Karavalli's before for dinner and had had good experiences so I was looking forward to get my fill of Indian food.
For those of you who have never been to an Indian buffet before, here's more or less what you can expect:
There were a fair amount of vegetarian options, so though not everything was labeled I was still able to get a healthy sized plate of food. I'm not sure the name of everything I got (sorry, I was so hungry I forgot to take notes!), but here's what our plates looked like:
These plates make me think about how they tell you that a colorful plate is a healthy plate, did you ever hear that as a kid? I love buffets because you get to try a little bit of everything, this is a great way to introduce someone to Indian food if they are feeling adventurous. We had attentive waiters who brought us piping hot naan to have with our lunch, which was good because I needed something to scoop up all of those delicious sauces (if you saw on my Little India post, I love those sauces but still have no idea what they are). I have to say though, the naan was the only thing that was hot. I was pretty disappointed with the general lack of heat, both for temperature and spice. Buffets should always be hot and fresh, that's what those heating pans are for after all! And while the food that we got was fresh tasting, it was pretty much room temperature.
But then again, it was ten dollars for all you can eat. So while I would have preferred a little more intensity, the quality to cost ratio was about right and I still went up for seconds. If you are in a rush or are particularly hungry for Indian food and think you need multiple plates to satiate your craving, check out Karavalli's lunch buffet. Maybe one day I'll figure out the ingredients to those delicious Indian sauces, and after that I'll look into the bowels of goodies that are always at the door...anyone know what these treats are? Desserts? Condiments? Snacks? Do you have a favorite?
As always - I love hearing your feedback! Let me know if you hear of any great specials or if there are any restaurants you would like to see reviewed. Can't wait to hear from you!
For those of you who have never been to an Indian buffet before, here's more or less what you can expect:
There were a fair amount of vegetarian options, so though not everything was labeled I was still able to get a healthy sized plate of food. I'm not sure the name of everything I got (sorry, I was so hungry I forgot to take notes!), but here's what our plates looked like:
These plates make me think about how they tell you that a colorful plate is a healthy plate, did you ever hear that as a kid? I love buffets because you get to try a little bit of everything, this is a great way to introduce someone to Indian food if they are feeling adventurous. We had attentive waiters who brought us piping hot naan to have with our lunch, which was good because I needed something to scoop up all of those delicious sauces (if you saw on my Little India post, I love those sauces but still have no idea what they are). I have to say though, the naan was the only thing that was hot. I was pretty disappointed with the general lack of heat, both for temperature and spice. Buffets should always be hot and fresh, that's what those heating pans are for after all! And while the food that we got was fresh tasting, it was pretty much room temperature.
But then again, it was ten dollars for all you can eat. So while I would have preferred a little more intensity, the quality to cost ratio was about right and I still went up for seconds. If you are in a rush or are particularly hungry for Indian food and think you need multiple plates to satiate your craving, check out Karavalli's lunch buffet. Maybe one day I'll figure out the ingredients to those delicious Indian sauces, and after that I'll look into the bowels of goodies that are always at the door...anyone know what these treats are? Desserts? Condiments? Snacks? Do you have a favorite?
As always - I love hearing your feedback! Let me know if you hear of any great specials or if there are any restaurants you would like to see reviewed. Can't wait to hear from you!
If you're interested in Indian cooking, check out Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran. I took a class with him in NYC; excellent chef and an excellent book. He also has a farm up here in upstate NY (masala farm), over in Salem I think.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation Ben, I'll definitely check out Saran's cookbook!
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