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Originally Posted by MandoMan
I’m sorry you had a bad experience at Amrit Palace. I’ve eaten there perhaps a dozen times, and it has always been wonderful. Their Samosa Chaat appetizer is delicious and a meal in itself. I took an Indian friend from The Villages there for dinner, and she loved it and thought it was the real thing. Well—most of the customers seem to be Indians. Their new menu, alas, no longer has Bhindi (okra stir fried in spices), as I always ordered that. I guess they were having a hard time sourcing fresh okra of the right small size. Their prices have also gone up. Dinner for two with tip is always over $100 for me.
I’ve never considered complimentary poppadums to be part of dining in an Indian restaurant. It’s sort of like going to non-touristy Italian restaurants in Italy and expecting to receive fresh bread and olive oil with spices in it for dunking, then discovering that’s an American thing, not an Italian thing.
Not speaking to YOU about this, but I’ve noticed that I need to be careful about restaurant reviews—especially the number of stars. I only want reviews from those who actually know that sort of food well and are fit to judge it. I’ve seen high Yelp ratings for pizza I know is mediocre because I’ve tried it, or giving Taco Bell a five star rating for its Mexican food or Panda Express a high rating for its Chinese food or McDonald’s a high rating for its burgers—or its shakes.
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It's interesting that it's customary at Indian restaurants in America, but not in India. Regardless, it IS customary in America, so when it doesn't come, I'm disappointed. And the salted, overbaked papadum - blech. And served AFTER I was almost finished with my entree? Pointless.
I'm not fond of bland, almost-sweet curry. I like it savory and spicy. So when they ask me how I want mine, and I tell them "medium-hot" I expect it to be something other than bland, and almost-sweet. I like that Shiva's presentation fits my expectations. Every Indian restaurant I've been to up north has been slightly different from each other - some use more cinnamon, some use more ginger, some use a thicker "stew-like" red sauce and others use a thinner creamier variety. And actual Indians are common customers at most of them. The one that never had any Indian customers went out of business the same year they opened. No one was surprised.