A cup of Assam Tea: January 2017

Saturday, January 28, 2017

India, West Hartford

When you move from one country to another country you probably carry your food memories along with all the other memories. After moving from India to the US, we visited many Indian restaurants from East coast to West coast. Most of the time, I failed to get that authentic Indian taste. Most restaurants had the same taste and same color whether its chicken Tikka or vegetable Korma. Somewhere, I lost interest in visiting Indian restaurants. But, there are a couple of times when you get that taste you are looking for. We recently heard that a new Indian restaurant had opened nearby to our city. I was hopeful to visit because it is the Thali brand, it is popular for its incredible Indian taste. India, West Hartford was a good find. We were there for lunch. Modern contemporary, clean set up was great with Indian touch like displaying framed saree and using colors like scarlet red and jet black which you rarely see in an Indian restaurant in the US. We recently visited India. For lunch they have options like a small plate(appetizer) and big plate(main course), you can choose one item from each. You have an option for vegetarian, vegan and nonvegetarian to glutton free. I ordered from small plate Jinga Manchurian (Shrimp Manchurian) and my husband ordered Chicken Tikka and our 7-year-old son Samosa (It comes with two Samosas). Everything tasted very delicious, rightly coated with spices and cooked to perfection. India, West Hartford is a good choice for family lunch or dinner outing. Kids friendly indeed. Food tastes better when served with love and care. The manager also came to check few times, if everything is perfect. His interacting with the kids to make them comfortable was a good part. The Waiter also came to check on us regularly.

Jhinga Manchurian

Samosa

For the main course, I ordered Chicken Kathi and my husband Paneer Tikka Masala, it came with basmati rice and for our son Malai tikka.Kathi roll is a good option for lunch. Chicken Tikka is a must try and that kind of tikka taste is rare to find near Hartford area. For dessert, we ordered Chenna Rabri(Sweet cheese ball with heavy cream). Parking might be little tricky as it is in the heart of the blue back square. But, there is a public parking area near to the restaurant and some street parking is also available. They have a different menu for dinner with an array of choices and for Sunday street style brunch menu looked quite interesting too. It is worth a visit if you want to taste delicious Indian cuisine. I am looking forward to my next trip soon.

Paneer Tikka Masala

Chenna Rabri

And my rating is 3.5 out of 5.

LUNCH
7 Days a Week
11:30am - 2:30pm

HAPPIER HOUR
7 Days a Week
5pm - 7pm

DINNER
Monday to Thursday
5pm - 9:30pm

Friday to Saturday
5pm - 10:30pm

Sunday
4pm - 8:30pm

Address: 54 Memorial Rd, West Hartford, CT 06107
Phone: (860) 726-4103

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Onion Mountain, Simsbury, CT review

Coming from a small town in eastern part of India with lush greenery I always carry within me and try to find that everywhere I go. Quaint small town charm always appeals me. When it comes to food, I try to find the same small town flavor, local grown real and organic food instead of typical chain restaurants. It always carries the flavor and the food culture of that place.

The other day I was trying to find some local green or organic restaurants nearby Hartford, Connecticut area where we stay. I found a few, and Onion Mountain is one of them located in Simsbury, Connecticut. Mexican American self-service restaurant with a cute and casual set up. It offers food like burritos, tacos, salads, wraps, a few sides and option for kids too. Established in 2014, the best part of Onion Mountain is most food is from locally grown places and also mentioned where it is from. Food is decent even though there is no such big menu yet there are options for vegan and vegetarian. Burritos tacos and wraps are kinds of stuff ideal for rush lunch and everything is under 10 dollars comes with chips and cucumber pickle. Even though it is self-service but service is quite quick and customer friendly. Going by the name, I was expecting to find some special items based on Onion, but ironically there were none, not sure what is the basis, anyway the name is beautiful and caught my attention.