COLUMN: Tandoori hits the spot
I don’t profess to be a connoisseur of much of anything. I’m good at eating, I’m fairly apt in the kitchen – that means I think I can cook – and I’ve worked in and eaten at dozens of restaurants.
As far as my experience goes eating in restaurants attached to gas stations – I mean full-on sit-down restaurants with servers, a commercial kitchen and maybe even a hostess. I have eaten at a handful of places that fit this description, but the majority of them have been truckstop diners on road trips, or the like.
For the first time, as I rummaged through my brain for ideas of where to go in Logan for my next food review, I decided it was time to do Indian. I don’t profess to be an Indian food expert, I haven’t eaten a wide variety of Indian food, and I’m certainly not one of those typical trendy hipster-beatnik types who thinks it’s cool to talk about Indian food.
Most local foodies, ethnic food enthusiasts and Cache Valley natives know there are at least a couple of nearby options to fulfill that craving for aromatic, usually spicy, peculiar cuisine that tells a historical tale of Indian gastronomic culture far better than cheeseburgers would ever do for America. The two major Indian food entities in Logan are Indian Oven and Tandoori Oven. I’ve been told each has its pros and cons; but recently I had a friend tell me her favorite was “the one next to the gas station.” That’s right, the gas station where all the closet potheads used to buy their spice until it was outlawed; and I’m not talking about cumin and turmeric.
I decided to check out the Tandoori Oven for lunch the other day, and I have to say, hands down, I was served one of the best meals I’ve had out to eat in a long time.
You can tell as soon as you walk into the place that you’re in an Indian restaurant. I was inundated by the fragrant smells of incense, curry powder, cumin and cardamom. A woman who appeared to be a native of India greeted me at the door and invited me to find a table of my own – sometimes a daunting task on one’s own during the peak of a lunch rush. I actually had no problem, however, finding a place to sit in the humble and somewhat intimate dining room of about a dozen tables and booths.
In no time I was greeted my server who reminded me of the boys I see on TV shows in which the host visits India and is constantly surrounded by teenage boys smiling for the Western cameras. What the boy, or perhaps young man, lacked in age and knowledge of the English language, he made up for in politeness and willingness to please. Instantly he was on my good side after he fulfilled my request for a Dr Pepper. When he returned with my beverage, I asked him to suggest an entree – chicken tikka masala is what I got.
I must admit, in the past I’ve been hesitant to eat a lot of Indian food because I’m not such a huge fan – or at least I didn’t think I was – of cooking with creams and yogurt. Well, I was wrong. The chicken masala came in a wonderfully fragrant, perfectly seasoned cream sauce that smothered the clay-oven-barbecued chicken. Just as Korean barbecue is far different from what Americans consider when they think of barbecue, Tandoori Oven’s use of the word barbecue refers to the method of cooking, and not so much the sauce or the flavor. For this I was glad. My chicken dish came with a standard bowl of rice and a spare plate to mix everything on.
The element that truly made my first Tandoori Oven experience superb was the garlic naan bread the waiter suggested with my meal. Who eats Indian food without naan? This bread is no joke, folks. It came fresh from the oven, covered in garlic powder and still steaming – it provided the perfect utensil for soaking up the excellent sauce that my chicken was bathing in.
For lunch and dinner specials, Tandoori Oven offers the typical Utah-friendly all-you-can-eat buffet. I figured I’d skip this, and I’m glad I did. For all you college students and young couples, I’m sure this is a great way to enjoy what Tandoori has to offer without breaking the bank. I suggest, though, when you decide to splurge, give one of the full-entree menu items a try.
I have no complaints about Tandoori Oven. The dining room was tiny, as I said, and the decor was simplistic yet traditional. If I had to muster up anything negative, it would be the fact that I felt as though I was in India while I was there – something that wouldn’t be so bad, but the air temperature had me sweating while I ate. Perhaps this was due to my proximity to the kitchen.
Tandoori Oven gets and A-plus in my book of great ethnic restaurants to put on the list of regular haunts. For about $15 I was able to fill up and take leftovers home with me, including some of the fantastic naan. After a $5 tip for my hard-working server, I was able to leave happy and enjoy the sunny spring weather I’m not used to experiencing here in Cache Valley this time of year.
– dan.whitney.smith@aggiemail.usu.edu