Priya, Lowell, MA

Priya
1270 Westford St., Lowell, MA

It's on Drum Hill in Lowell. It's also underground. Perhaps it's underground because they want you to forget the hassels of the outside world and allow yourself to be swept away by delicious all-you-can-eat North and South Indian dishes.

Note: I would like to apologize in advance for the big areas of blank space. I need to fix these formatting problems I'm having. It appears fine when I'm composing and previewing it, but It throws in these huge gaps between the pitcures and texts. So if you see blank space, just keep scrolling.

The Offerings:

This is the buffet line. It appears that they set it up like a supermarket salad bar.

Chutneys/Sauces:

Above: Salad. Below (Clockwise from top left): Mint Chutney, Mango Chutney, Raitha, Tamarind Chutney, Coconut Chutney, and Pickle

-mint: Their take on mint chutney was thinner than what I usually see. It looked like salsa verde. I could taste more cilantro than mint in this one. My friend, who accompanied me on this trip, noted that it would taste good with tortilla chips. This chutney wishes it was part of Mexican cuisine.

-tamarind: It was thin and tangy. I loved it. I can't bring myself to ever shrug it off at an Indian buffet.

-mango: My trusty companion and I both agreed that it tasted like mango and honey. It had the consistancy and sweetness of apple butter and other decadent jams.

-coconut: I didn't try it. Shame on me.

-raitha: It tasted like it has at other buffets. This tangy yogurt sauce generally tastes the same everywhere I go.

-pickle: Well, its flavor was less arresting to my tastebuds than the pickle at India Palace. It was still strong though. This one contained lemon rinds which, (one can assume) gave it a very lemony flavor.

Salad: It was simple, and standard for Indian fare. A garden salad tossed together with the usual cilantro, veggies, and lemon wedges.

Dosa: The dosas were quite large in size. They were sligtly crispy in texture and generously filled. They were served one per guest.

Bread:

-naan: They recently began serving naan to the table, rather than leaving it up at the buffet. I don't know if they changed the recipe, but it was oil-brushed and slightly crispy on the outside. Perhaps this is just because they're fresher. I didn't run out of naan while wanting more, so, given that I'm generaly wary of this setup. No harm, no foul, here.

Soup:

-sambar: The sambar was spicy and had this savory taste about it that I'm guessing was a hint of tamarind. If you're trying to stay my judgement, it can be dont so by adding tamarind to anything.

Appetizers:

Top: Sambar. Bottom: Idly

-onion pakora: Being that It was battered onion, it did bear slight resemblance to the fried onion appetizers of American cuisine, but, being that it was battered with lentil instead of flour-based batter made it taste even better. Of course they tasted great with tamarind chutney (in my biased opinion).

-idly: Ah, out first experience with these South Indian snacks. However I would try to explain these could better be done by clicking the link. They are good for soaking in sambar. When eaten alone, without being dipped in a sauce, they can be pretty dry.

Entrees:

Clockwise from top left: onion pakora, tomato rice, butter chicken, and basmati rice.

Clockwise from top left: broccoli/carrot poriyal, aloo gobi, tandoori chicken, and chennai chicken.

-tomato rice! Flavored basmati rice is a beautiful thing. It adds extra flavour to whatever you're eating. This rice was so damn savory.

-broccoli and carrot poriyal: I'll note again that I'm not as enthusiastic towards the drier dishes, but that just me. That said, this dish seemed to be seasoned with coconut, which was nice on my tastebuds.

-aloo gobi: This dish, consisting of spiced potato and cauliflower, was suprisingly spicy. The sauce was thicker and drier than the usual curry. Overall, a tasty dish.

-mushroom saag: It was the usual spinach-based curry, but with mushrooms instead of paneer, which I usually see at buffets. The sause was spicy, but not too spicy (medium-spice, as it's referred to in Indian Cuisine).

-chennai chicken: The chicken was soft, boneless, and juicy and the sauce was both sweet and savory at the same time (for which I'm a sucker).

-butter chicken: What a delight. It was similar to chicken tikka masala in that the sauce was creamy and tomatoey, and the chicken appeared to have been cooked on kebabs and marinated in the same manner that the tandoori chicken was, but this sauce was musch creamier, which I'd be willing to bet, was because of extra butter. My cohort was also taken back by how delicious this dish was.

-tandoori chicken: Their tandoori chicken was extra juciy and spiced; probably the best tandoori chicken I've had yet.

Dessert:

Top: (Entree) mushroom saag. Bottom: (Dessert) gulab jamun.

-gulab jamun: Oh my, what a dessert. Think of these as pancake balls floating in cardamom syrup. These ones were completely drenched in the syrup and melted in my mouth. I had about 6 of them.

Price: $9.93 (on a weekday, including 5% MA meals tax). Not bad at all.

Priya really knows how to win customer loyaly. With this card, (which they give everybody that comes in, no stings attatched), every sixth buffet is free.


Final Score: 4.8/5

So far, Priya is the place to beat, with India Palace being a close second. The cuisine is tastefully varied, with a mix of South and North Indian cuisine There's dosa. They've improved the naan They offer frequent dines rewards (which I've never seen at an Indian buffet). The selection is slicgtly smaller then other places I've been to, which holds it .2 away from a perfect 5; so, so close.

The Pongal, Billerica, MA

The Pongal
786 Boston Rd., Billerica, MA

Ah, the excitement of South Indian cuisine! South Indian food strays from the usual curry/naan deal, and incorporates some drier, more solid dishes, as well as a favorite of mine, rice lentil crepes which they call dosa. The food here tasted very similar to a Lowell Indian buffet that I may or may not post on here very soon. Alright, let's see what they had to offer on this random Tuesday...

The Offerings:

Chutneys:

-tamarind: I loved it, moreso than our last review, and maybe one of the top three in my dining experiences. Oh, I forgot to tell you I'm biased towards a tangy-ass tamarind chutney. So what? I'll also note that it was chunky, which didn't add to or detract from my chutney-ing experience.
-mint: Yup, this place had it. I want to make a point to survey this chutney more deeply. As the this and the last post, I've yet to sample the mint chutney.
-coconut: It was of a watery consistancy, and the tast was watered down as well. What I could taste, and have tasted in this flavor chutney before was both nutty and coconutty.
-tomato: What strikes me about this chutney is that every time I encounter it, it looks like somone dyed the coconut chutney tomato red. It was tangy and spicy. It reminded me, slightly, of tikka masala sauce, but that probably has to do with them both being tomato-based sauces.

Salad:-

left to right: fruit salad, papri chaat, lettuce, 'green salad', kheer, raita, and tomato chutney.

-fruit salad? Fuck yeah. If you need or want fresh fruit, it's there. Assorted melon and grapes? Why the hell not? This marks the first time I've ever found fruit salad at an Indian buffet and even though I didn't partake in any, I was pleasantly surprised.
-raitha: I forgot to mention this item in the last post. I need to pay stronger attention to this item. I suppose I'm not too picky when it comes to this tangy yogurt sauce/dip. I'll add that I like it on salad.
-lettuce: 'Twas nothing but shredded iceberg lettuce. I suppose this can be convenient for those who like to use lettuce as an accesory to everything they eat. Then again, I'm not even sure if those types actually exist.
-green salad: From what I saw, it appeared to be an array of the sliced Indian buffet salad vegetable usuals: red onion, lemon, tomato, cucumber, and carrot. I think there was some lettuce beneath all of the veggies. if not, that must have been what that bowl of shredded lettuce was about...
-papri chaat: As of yet, I'm not sure if this was labled correctly. The Wikipedia article for papri chaat describes it as something entirely different. Whatever this was it was delicious. It came in the form of a chickpea salad with cilantro, onion, and a savory green sauce.

Bread:

(left pic) top to bottom: naan, dosa, and tamarind chutney. (right pic): papadum

-naan: It was served to your table in baskets, cut into four wedges. I'm usually wary of this system because, in the past, it has proved to leave me naanless as I would finish off the basket and have to wait 5-10 minutes for a fresh one. This time I thought ahead and asked for extra naan as I was being seated. The server brought me 2 baskets! Big points for the service for that one. I, however, proved to be the asshole in the end when I found that I couldn't finish all of the bread. Be careful what you wish for. The quality of the naan was dry and soft. I tend to like oilier, crispier naan. It's a preference thing, I suppose.
-papadum: Two words: giant Muncho. Remember Muncho potato chips? They had a nice texture and flavor, but not something for which I found myself craving seconds.

-dosa: This gem is a staple of South Indian cuisine; essentially a large lentil crepe curled delicately around a spiced mixture of potato and vegetable. I love dosa. They served me two! Usually buffets only serve one dosa per customer, although, I have been to a buffet that has a dosa bar where endless dosas are made to order, but that's another story. These dosas were rather small in size, could have been crispier, and could have used more filling. The taste was still right on. You can bet I slathered them in Pongal's delicious tamarind chutney

Soups:

-sambar: This spicy soup is another staple of South Indian cuisine. The soup contains a mixture of veggies, the broth usually tastes of lentil, and is quite spicy Their sambar was no exception.
-rasam: I like to think of this soup, which is also South Indian as the darker, spicier, tangier, wilder sibling of Sambar. I didn't try it, but I think, in general, I prefer this soup to sambar.

Appetizers:

left to right: mysore bondi and aloo tikki

-aloo tikki: These appear to be India's spicy take on tater tots, or tots are America's oily, salty take on Aloo Tikki. My favorite of the two apps being offered.
-mysore bonda: This appetizer struck me as the munchkin form of vada, the South Indian lentil donut appetizer.

Entrees:
(left pic) left to right: lamb khorma and chicken tikka masala. (right pic) clockwise on plate: naan, tandoori chicken, 'mushroom pepper salt', bindi do pyaza, veg. avial, beans poriyal, and rice in center.

-rava kichadi: It reminded me of curry-flavored cream of wheat. It was dry, mealy, and spicy. Not my cup of tea. If this dish were more moist, I think I would have enjoyed it more. Maybe it's supposed to be more moist. Maybe we'll encounter an instance of this in our future travels and will look back upon Pongal and scoff. Who knows? My judgment in regards to their quality of this dish is pending.
-beans poriyal: This was another non-saucy, drier, dish. The dish consisted of sauteed green beans. They were moist and flavorful. I could taste hints of coconut.
-bindi do pyaza: I don't recall having tried this dish before. It was almost like a curried version of roasted red pepper and onion that you would put on a steak and cheese or Italian sausage. I liked it, but not more than my favorite saucy dishes.
-dal makhani: I'm beginning to get the impression that this dish is supposed to be more on the bland side. Their dal makhani was thinner than the one I tasted in our last review. It also was spicier and contained kindey beans.
-'mushroom pepper salt': Perhaps what was written on the card below this entree was meant to divulge what, aside from chicken, this dish contained. Then again, I honsetly couldn't tell if there was even chicken in the dish, maybe it was more mushroom. This is the closest resemblance to this dish I could find. It reminded me of Chinese food, i.e. salt and pepper chix/veg/beef. Perhaps this was one of those Indo-Chinese fusion dishes.
-vegetable avial: In my eyes, this dish takes an assortment of chopped vegetables and simmers them in coconut chutney. That's a good thing in my book. I enjoy the sweet and savory experience of vegetables with coconut flavoring.
-chicken tikka masala: Their tikka masala was quite creamy in flavor and pale in color. The chicken pieces were tender and juicy. Really good, but not last good as India Palace.
-lamb khorma: I'm used to dishes that feature a creamy korma sauce having that sweet, creamy taste, almost reminding me of broccoli cheddar soup. This sauce, while still yellow in color, was more watery and all I could taste was the lamb. This gives a new meaning to the term 'weak sauce'. The good I can say about this dish is that the lamb chunks were boneless, juicy, and tender, all aspects of meat in Indian cuisine that I favor.

Dessert:

carrot halwa





















-carrot halwa: I enjoyed Pongal's carrot halwa. I always like carrot halwa. Perhaps this is because it usually tastes the same no matter where I go. The variables can be the addition of nuts (cashew and almond) and I've even seen golden raisins thrown in. Their halwa had a slight amount of cashew and was sweet, cardamomy, and buttery-tasting as usual.
-kheer: Compared to India Palace, I enjoyed this kheer more. It was thinner, I could taste more cardamom, and there were bits of pistachio thrown it. Who doesn't like pistachios? (some people, just not me).

Price: $11.66 on a weekday (including MA tax). A bit steep.

Final Score: 4.0/5

Maybe I would've given The Pongal a higher score if I had never been to an Indian buffet that has very similar offerings, but a lower price and a quality that caters more to my liking (that I may or may not be reviewing in the near future). Is this a bias? Maybe, but isn't context a large part of how we form opinions and rate things based on quality? Who knows. I did enjoy it, and did eat until I was inches away from bursting, so that had to be a good sign. The servers were attentive to my needs; also a good sign. They had more than the average number of offerings of any given Indian buffet. Still, I was not blown away by the food quality. It had its high points, but I'm not having dreams of The Pongal at night.

-Eric

India Palace, Nashua, NH

Beforehand, I would like to apologize to the readers for the absence of images of the actual dishes in this first review. I was a bit nervous that I would anger the staff my first time though. In future posts, I'll overcome my timidness and actually snap pics of the actual buffet. This first post will be purely descriptive, as well as provide a basic introduction to some of the more popular Indian dishes. There are, in the absence of actual photos from the buffet, links to pictures I found off of Google, just to give you a general idea of what each item looks like. So, let this be a disclaimer: none of today's images are from the today's buffet (except for the image of the restaurant-front)

For your convenience, I'll link items and terms that I have a hunch you may not understand to a corresponding Wikipedia article (or something of the like).

Now, on to our first review!



India Palace in Nashua is the closest Indian buffet to my house, which means I am lucky, because for the typical Indian fare, this place (or "palace") has quite the delectable buffet. It is part of a chain, of sorts, that has restaurants in Manchester, NH and Chelmsford, MA. I've yet to visit either of these buffets. I plan on it, though, to see if they can match (or better) the saucy excellence of their Nashua location.

The Offerings: (This is where I describe the buffet's offerings, a.k.a., the meat, potatoes, and spices of the post. (pun intended))

Chutneys:
A little info to get us started: These saucy accompaniments are an integral part of any Indian buffet. It can be used on your salad as a dressing, or as a sauce for your appetizers (pakora or samosa, for example). Think of it as the Indian equivalent to blue cheese or ranch dressing. I don't find it necessary to use with the entrees, as they already have their own sauces. I find it rather redundant.

-mint chutney: Looked like pesto. More pale in color than mint chutneys I've seen elsewhere. This chutney combines the taste of mint with cilantro. The result is a cool (in palatal terms) tastiness
-onion chutney: Looked like diced up onions, dyed red. Tastes like diced up onions, slightly seasoned.
-mango chutney: It looked like peach jam, and tasted like honey with a hint of mango; not bad, but too
-tamarind chutney: My favorite of all chutneys. It has a vinaigrette consistency and taste that is a balance of sweet and tangy. This buffet's tamarind chutney leaned more on the sweet side.
-mixed vegetable pickle: All buffets I've been to in the past include an Indian pickle accompaniment. I had never tried it up until this visit. Theirs' was a "mixed vegetable pickle". All I could taste was salt, with a hint of vinegar. The taste proved for too abrasive for the likes of my taste buds. I'll bet you could get the same flavor from filling your mouth with salt and then slipping a small piece of carrot, onion, or cucumber in there too.

The Salad Set-Up:
Most commonly (in my observations) the salad can include a mix of iceberg lettuce, sliced carrots, sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, chopped cliantro, and lemon wedges.

That said, this buffet proved to be an anomaly to the aforementioned system. There was straight iceberg lettuce and, in a separate bowl, a diced, relish-like, mixture of (what I think to be) all of the previously listed Indian salad veggies. My natural instinct was to combine to two, which is what I think you're supposed to do.

Bread:
Indian cuisine features various breads. The breads are flat, which makes them perfect for scooping up all of the delicious sauce your lame-ass fork left behind. Personally, I often find myself substituting the bread for a fork. I'll introduce each type of bread as we encounter it.

-naan: is the most common of South Asian breads. It comes in various flavors. India Palace really delivers with their naan. It's slightly crispy and oiled. They keep it hot and stocked in a pan on the buffet line, I highly prefer this as opposed to places that serve baskets of naan to your table, I always end up have to bug the waiter for more. They also offer Garlic flavored naan! This is the only place I've ever witnessed regularly offering 2 flavors of naan at their buffet. Big points here.

Appetizer:

We'll encounter various forms.

mixed vegetable pakora: This was the only appetizer being offered today :/. It was good though. Light and crispy bits of what appeared to be fried spinach and potato. As always, I dipped them in the tamarind chutney. The result was delicious.

Entrees:
Various meats (usually chicken or goat), vegetables, lentils, and/or paneer in savory, spiced, sauces. Oh, and tandoori chicken.

-dal makhani: This is a dish composed of lentils in a creamy tomato sauce. The dal that I tasted here had no tomato taste to it, as promised in its description. I felt slightly let down. Its taste was purely bean-y, like black bean soup.

-palak paneer: One of my personal favorites; Indian fried cheese cubes in a spiced spinach sauce. Theirs' did not disappoint. The sauce was smooth, creamy, and slightly spicy all at the same time.

-mushroom mattar: This dish featured mushrooms and peas in a brown sauce that was savory and slightly tangy. This dish is slowly teaching me to appreciate peas.

-vegetable vindaloo: This is a dish which featured vegetables (green beans, peas, carrots) and potatoes in a brown sauce, which tasted very similar to the Mattar sauce.

-chicken curry: It consisted of boneless (thumbs up), cubed chicken in a brown sauce. I will note that at the time I tried it, there was barely any chicken left in the pan, so I mostly got to try the sauce. The sauce was tangy and I could taste hints of something sweet, like cinnamon or cardamom. They lose points for not keeping the chicken stocked, but gain points for the sauce being so damn delicious.

-chicken tikka masala: This dish, I've observed, is usually the starting point for most people's venture into the world of Indian cuisine. It features pieces of (usually boneless) chicken in a creamy tomato sauce. I could eat India Palace's tikka masala for every meal of every day, and I wouldn't grow tired of it. As a matter of fact, I'm craving it right now. From the deep red hue of the sauce, to the twice-as-large pan the kept stocked, to how it delivered in its creamy-yet-tangy, flavor, the Palace has surely knocked this one out of the park.

-tandoori chicken: I didn't have any room left to try their tandoori chicken this visit, but it looked like what I'm used to seeing at the buffets: Red-colored grilled chicken drumsticks sprinkled with cilantro and garnished up the wazoo with sliced onion and lemon wedges.

Desert:

-kheer: This is essentially what everyone one knows to be rice pudding, given an Indian spin. The spin involves a thinner consistency, the addition of pieces of (one or two of the following) pistachio, almond, cashew, saffron strings, and the hint of cardamom. India Palace offers a thicker rice pudding. I've never really tasted bad kheer, but I think I would've enjoyed their Kheer more if it was thinner and milkier.

-mango pudding: Delicious. Its thinner and lighter than American pudding, which makes it that much more addictive. India Palace even goes the extra mile by tossing in bits of other fruits too.

Price: $10.36 on a weekday (including N.H. tax). Not bad.

Final Score: 4.5/5

For now, we'll be using a five-point system in half-point increments. Why? Cuz I said so.

-If I was scoring the India Palace buffet solely on their ability to serve up standard North-Indian delicacies, this place may have scored a perfect 5, but that's not entirely what I'm looking for. Sure, quality is a huge part of the point-system, but I have a dream. That dream is that there is someplace out there that can provide a buffet, at a relatively low cost, with relatively high quality, and offer both North and South Indian delicacies.

I'll be going to a buffet that specializes more in South Indian dishes in the near future, so stay tuned. For now, I bid you farewell. Keep it spicy.