Eat and Destroy

From my posts, it should be obvious that I’m spending too much time in Waltham since I started working here a few years ago.  Besides the many amazing places to eat, the Waltham area is one of the best spots for grocery shopping.

Living in JP, I’ve spent way too much cash on crap produce at Harvest, and I’ve also spent too much on great quality produce at Roche Bros.  Now that I’m in Waltham, almost all my produce comes from Russo’s right on the Watertown border.  My weekly fruit & vegetable bill has gone down from about $30/week to less than $20/week since I started shopping there.  Not only is it cheaper, but the quality and variety that I bring home is fantastic.  While Russo’s does carry more than produce, that is pretty much all I buy from them (with the exception of cheese and occasionally some ravioli supplied by Dave’s Fresh Pasta).

The Indian Grocery Stores on Moody Street are my constant suppliers of yogurt, spices, chutneys, paneer, frozen naan, and a few fruits and vegetables.  I usually end up at Patel Bros, New Apna Bazaar, and/or Waltham India Grocery. All have some items that are cheaper than Russo’s such as oranges, avocados, mangos, limes, lemons, onions, & mint (Patel Bros. is usually the cheaper of the three).  If you check out New Apna Bazaar, make sure to explore their refrigerators since they have many delicious prepared foods. My favorite is the flat chicken . Unfortunately, they recently raised the price on this (and the kabobs) so they aren’t such a bargain anymore. I also like the spice of their Chicken 65, but it is a bit too oily. I have yet to try their Dokla (which they only carry on Saturdays).

Also, in the basement of Waltham India Grocery, there is a great butcher.  The prices are pretty good, the quality is excellent, and he’ll cut what ever part you want exactly how you want it.  I usually go there for lamb legs (with bone) and organic whole chickens.

Right across the street from the Indian stores is La Chapincita Market. Here, I usually just get a few bottled sodas and  hot sauces. (See earlier post about the tortas that they sell on Saturdays.)

I also go to Dae Han Oriental Food when I don’t have the time to go to Super 88 for some basic staples such as yam noodles, soba sauce, sriracha, etc.  Sometimes, I also pick up some of their ready to cook bulgogi.

And, yes, even though I don’t want to admit it, I go to Costco for their frozen fish and occasionally for their meat. (Yeah, I know that fresh fish is so much better, but for the price, the salmon, talapia, shrimp, & scallops are great deals.)

Indian, groceries, waltham fruit, groceries, grocery, Indian, vegetables, waltham

After getting back from vacation, PK & I were craving some Indian food. Too tired from the traveling, we decided against driving to Punjabi Dhaba and ordering takeout instead. We gave Ghazal a shot. We ordered Dahi Chat Papdi, Lamb Vindaloo, & Shahi Paneer Korma.

About 15 minutes after we ordered, our food arrived! Everything was good and was quite spicy (as we requested).

Verdict: While Ghazal is not in my top choices for Indian food in town, I was pleased with the meal and will be ordering from them again…

Indian, Jamaica Plain Indian, Jamaica Plain

I thought that I posted about Guru ages ago, but after looking through my archive, I see that I didn’t.  So, this post is based on a meal that I had many months ago.

Guru is a catering business that opens their doors to the public for a few hours everyday. They also offer a lunch delivery service (see their website for more information).

Their menu is pretty small since it consists of a few daily selections along with a handful of specials.  We decided to split a Lamb Biryani ($9) which was delicious.  It is the second best biryani that I have ever had (the best is at Kabab & Tandoor in Waltham).  Guru’s raita (yogurt sauce) really enhances the taste of their biryani so you might want to ask for a little extra.

Verdict: Quite tasty! I need to try their other dishes.

Cheap, Indian, Somerville Cheap, Indian, Somerville

A few weeks ago, Tim was visiting from Chicago. On his last night, he wanted to eat in JP. PK and I were planning to take him to WonderSpice (I was craving the Crispy Ginger Fish), but he wanted Indian so we went to Bukhara. I’m normally hesitant to go here since I find their food so inconsistent, but since I haven’t been to Bukhara in over a year, it was worth trying again.

We ordered the Gosht Biryani ($13.95) that was just mediocre. (It made me wish that we drove to Kabab & Tandoor in Waltham for their delicious biryani.) We also ordered a Beef or Lamb Vindaloo (can’t remember which one we got; $12.50 or $13.50). While this had a lot of spice (which we asked for) and the meat was nice and tender, the flavor was pretty bland. Our final dish was Saag Paneer ($11.95) which won the award for one of the worst versions of this dish that I have ever had. Our Chat Papri never showed up (and we were not charged for it).

Besides having a below average meal, it was annoying to sit at the table and, within a span of just a few minutes, have about three or four different waiters come to our table to take our order.

Over the years, I have had a few good meals here, but the majority have been disappointing.

Verdict: Too expensive to take a gamble on the quality of the meal.

Allston, Indian, Jamaica Plain Indian, Jamaica Plain

I was in Woburn, and I was hungry. I decided to just pull in to the first parking spot that I could find and get something cheap to eat. I ended up pulling up right in front of Hot Breads. Based on the atmosphere and the food, I would have never guessed that this place is a chain.

There were way too many choices. While most of the people in the bakery were eating dosas, I was drawn to the buns, puffs, and croissants that were stuffed with lamb, spicy chicken, and paneer. Of course, I bought too many.

I think that I was expecting a lot more flavor out of these. While I liked them, I was also a bit disappointed.

Verdict: Good enough to back to if I find myself near Woburn.

Bakery, Indian, woburn

The other day, I decided to stop by Kebab & Tandoor on my lunch break. I first heard about this place from a chowhound post about their buffet. However, since I am not a fan of buffets, I followed a co-worker’s suggestion and ordered the Sheek Kabab ($5.99). Although it was a bit too greasy, it was still fantastic.

Verdict: Delicious! I can’t wait to go back and try some of their other dishes.

Indian, waltham

A few Fridays ago, I had a cold and PK was just starting to get sick. Since my last few meals consisted of soup, I was craving something that was both spicy and close to home. We decided to check out the Himalayan Bistro in West Roxbury.

The majority of the menu is no different than most Indian restaurants, but they do have a handful of Himalayan/Nepalese dishes. The meal started off on the right note when they brought us a few pieces of Papadam along with three chutneys and sauces. I usually find these bland at most restaurants, but they had a lot of flavor and a little bit of spice.

We decided to split an Aloo Chat Papri ($4.95). Unfortunately, this was more like a salad rather than a soup, and it was nowhere as good as Punjabi Dhaba’s version of this dish.

For our main course, we decided to try a few dishes from the Himalayan part of the menu. We were both disappointed that they were out of Momos (dumplings). We ended up ordering the Goat Curry ($12.95). The curry had a good spice and the goat fell right off the bone. We also got an Acahri Lamb ($13.95; pickled lamb chunks cooked in a special curry). While we both liked this dish, we found it to be a bit too salty for our tastes (since it was pickled, we should have expected that).

Verdict: This was my first experience at a Himalayan restaurant. We both really enjoyed the meal, but it did not stand out, and we wish their prices were a bit cheaper. I am curious to try their Indian dishes that I am familiar with so that I can compare their food with other restaurants. I won’t be rushing back to eat there, but I will eat there again soon.

p.s. Sorry for the crappy camera phone pictures.

Himalayan, Indian, Nepalese, West Roxbury

Over the weekend, PK had her annual Christmas Party in March.  Instead of cooking, we decided to find the most delicious spread for less than $10 per person.  After weighing out the options, we decided to order from Punjabi Dhaba.  We ordered six orders of  Anda Paneer ($4.95), five Dahi Papri ($2.95), six Chicken Korma ($9.95), one Full Tandoori Chicken ($10.95), two Masala Dosai ($4.95), ten Papadams (.60), and ten extra orders of nan ($1.50).  The total came to $145.00, which was much less than our $10 per person goal.

We were both blown away by the amount of food we received for the money and, as always, the quality of the food was amazing. When we ordered, we made sure not to call during their busy hours.  The person on the phone was extremely helpful.  He even warned us that we were ordering way too much nan since some came with most of our dishes; however, we thought that there was no such thing as too much nan.  We were wrong and now have tons of nan packed into our freezer. We ordered the food the day before and said that we would be there the next day at 5PM to pick it up.  When we arrived, the food was almost ready to go.

Since our greedy guests devoured the Tandoori Chicken before I had a chance to try it, I cannot comment on it. My favorite dishes (as highlighted in an earlier Eat and Destroy post) were the Dahi Papri and the Anda Paneer.  The Masala Dosai followed closely behind. I found the Chicken Korma to be tasty, but a bit bland.

Verdict: As I stated in an earlier post, Punjabi Dhaba is my favorite place for Indian food in the area.  Furthermore, everyone at the Christmas party seemed to really like the food. We received the most compliments on the Anda Paneer and the Dahi Papri, which most of our guests have never had before.

P.S. I forgot to take a picture of the food so I stole this picture of our spread from Nedward.

Cambridge, Indian

This is by far our favorite Indian restaurant in the Boston area. Not only is their food much better than most Indian resturaunts in the area, but their dishes cost about half the price of other restaurants. My only complaint about Punjabi Dhaba is the organization of the ordering line. We ordered a Masala Dosa ($4.95) which is one of my regular dishes. We also ordered a Punjabi Chole Poori ($3.95), an Anda Paneer ($4.95), and a Dahi Papri ($2.95). That night, our two favorite dishes were the Anda Paneer and the Dahi Papri. The Anda Paneer consists of paneer cooked with boiled eggs, spices, and herbs. The Dahi Papri tastes a bit like a paneer chat with crunchy lentil crisps, potato, and chick peas.

Verdict: As I said earlier, this is our favorite Indian restaurant in the area. The best dishes that PK and I have had at Punjabi Dhaba are the ones that we have not heard of before. The descriptions on the menu does not do their food justice. Take a chance when ordering since the prices are so good that it does not really matter if you do not like a dish since ordering a backup is cheap enough.

Cambridge, Indian