There's a new Indian restaurant (Bawarchi) in South Meadows, at the corner of Double R and Prototype - right next to Jazmine. It's a chain from California with an upscale casual feeling. As they've just opened, they're offering 20% off their prices.
So far I've tried their samosas, aloo gobi, gobi pepper masala, bhindi masala and andhra dal. The samosas were great. The vegetable curries were delicious; I think they share a common tomato-onion base sauce. There were plenty of curry leaves in them, and I encountered the occasional cardamom seed or clove. The dishes marked as "spicy" on the menu actually did have some heat, including a few slices of quite spicy green chili pepper. I wasn't a fan of the dal - it seemed bland and a bit sweet - but then it had cilantro in it and I am a cilantro-hater. The naan was soft and flavorful. In all, easily the best Indian food to be found in Reno.
The waiters were busy but friendly, and generously took the time to find answers to a couple of my ingredient questions. (Yes, the naan contains yogurt; no, the yogurt does not have gelatin in it).
It's worth noting that they do not have a lunch buffet - so ordering will have to be done family style until they put a lunch special in place. I gather this is their soft opening and they will be expanding the (already extensive) menu soon. They already seem to be doing brisk business and amassing positive Yelp reviews.
It's pretty exciting to have a new Indian restaurant in Reno, and this one is definitely worth a visit.
Did they say that they are planning to have a buffet?
I see that they have Gobi Manchurian on the menu. That is one of my favorite dishes but is somewhat hard to find. I hope they are still open next time I am in Reno so I can try it.
Last time I was in Reno, I ate at India Kebab and Curry which was good if standard Indian with a large buffet (I think it was Sunday afternoon) and a couple of times at Flavors of India during the week. The latter had a much smaller buffet but it was very good. The second time I went, there were a lot of Indian people there and they kept running out of food. The employees would bring out a dish and it would be gone before I could get to it to try it and then they wouldn't bring the same dish out again. Very competitive buffet! Also the decor was a bit dated and the lobby had the most disgustingly filthy carpet I have ever seen in a business. Food was good, though.
From what they told me, it sounded like they don't plan to have a buffet - but who knows? Maybe they will change their minds.
That's pretty funny about the competitive buffet at Flavors of India. Perhaps I should give them another try, on one of my more aggressive days.
A buffet would be nice. They will probably figure out that they have to have one to compete with the other restaurants.
What are your favorite or the best buffets in Reno? I will probably be visiting this summer and would like to try some new buffets as I don't often get to eat at them and enjoy grazing the selection and tasting different things. I have eaten at the ones at those two Indian restaurants, at The Buffet at the El Dorado, King Chinese Buffet, and Wong's Genghis Kahn.
My fantasy for Reno would be a good Mexican buffet and a Thai buffet. (Thai and Mexican buffets are rare but they do exist!)
Oddly enough, the only buffets I've been to in years are the Indian restaurant buffets. However, I think Toucan Charlie's at the Atlantis is still considered one of the best buffets (or THE best buffet) in Reno - and has been for at least a couple of decades. It's been a long time, but I remember loving their "Mongolian BBQ" - a build-your-own-stir-fry setup.
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