Fast Break: India’s Restaurant

Around 11 a.m., India’s dining room is bustling, and with good reason. For the past 20 years, the restaurant at 5230 Essen Lane has been serving dynamite entrées on its lunch buffet and at dinner.

I had heard its name come up a few times in the past year, and I don’t know why I ignored it. India’s lunch buffet is quick, delicious and inexpensive. I feasted on vegetarian dishes such as cabbage fry, Navratan Korma (a tomato cream-based dish with veggies, nuts and paneer cheese) and Palak Paneer (spinach and Indian farmer’s cheese in a green curry), as well as chicken curry, Chole Bhature (a chickpea dish with fried breads for dipping), and endless, crisp naan bread.

I enjoyed it all, but perhaps my favorite dish was the Chicken 65, which is spiced with ginger, cayenne, mustard powder and vinegar. Its color is bright red like Tandoori chicken. Unlike that popular dish, Chicken 65 contains small bites of chicken and is considered a bar food item or quick snack. It packs a bit of a punch, but its spice is relatively mild compared to other items on the buffet. Thankfully, the service is so attentive that you will never be asking for a refill to cool off your taste buds.

India’s is open for lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Sunday, and for dinner 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. For more information, call 769-0600. —Matthew Sigur