This is a summary of the three e-mail responses that I received
regarding my query about Santa Clara restaurants. A big thanks to the three folks who responded! (The summary follows the review of the place we ended up going to.)
We ended up going to Kathmandu West for Nepali (or is it Nepalese?)
cuisine. The restaurant was very good. I only had Nepali food once before at little place in Wisconsin, so I'm not an expert on it, but I thought the place was very good. It wasn't quite as different from Indian food as I remembered it being though-- perhaps it was a question of the dishes we ordered. We ended up getting their marinated grilled chicken as an appetizer, and it was better than any tandoori I've ever had in an Indian restaurant. We also ended up getting a lamb "curry" (which was pretty good, but not out- standing) and a very tasty Eggplant dish. The pulao was wonderful and was flavored with cardamom and saffron, and filled with sultanas. The mango lassi I ordered was superb. Prices were moderate to moderate-high. (Entrees with meat were about $10.00, those with vegetables about $7.00, and those with seafood (in Nepal?!) about $15. The service was *extremely friendly* although it was a little slow, although the maitre-d'hote had explained that that would be the case. We also got a complimentary order of nan because it was our appetizer was taking a little longer than they expected, which was nice. I'd definitely go back again, although I'd definitely want to try to order some of the less Indianish (and presumably more Nepalese) dishes.
Anyway-- here's the summary of the three e-mail responses I
got:
____________
this is a little bit further north, but, in sunnyvale (right off of 280)... [summarizer's comment-- the restaurant is technically in Cupertino, just next to the Sunnyvale border]
Kathmandu West (Nepali, and absolutely excellent)
in San Jose...
White Lotus (vegetarian Vietnamese - really good)
El Maghreb (Moroccan, and lots of fun...)
____________
Hopefully you get this in time for dinner tonight...There's a really great place that's open on Sundays that serves Nepali food (kinda like Indian except not as hot... but just as spicy). The place is called Katmandu West, and it's on Homestead Ave in Santa Clara (don't know the exact address but it's in a little strip mall with a Baskin Robins). The place is fairly nice, and the crowd is usually casual. The entrees run from $9-$12 and with appetizers and drinks the dinner should run around $20 - $25 each. It's better to go with a group of at least 3 because you'll want to get several entrees and share them.
__________
Good reliable East African food can be had
at The Red Sea, on First near Taylor in San
Jose. The people are Eritrean but they bill
the restaurant as Ethiopian. A quick look at
a map of the horn of Africa may provide some
enlightenment.
Santa Clara is full of Korean restaurants.
Check El Camino from Lawrence Xway south.San Francisco Bay Area, CA
SUMMARY: Dinner in Santa Clara/Kathmandu West
James C. wrote: >with meat were about $10.00, those with vegetables about $7.00, and those with >seafood (in Nepal?!) about $15. The service was *extremely friendly* although On one of my many dinners there, I queried the waiter about the existence of shrimp in the high mountains of Nepal and the authenticity of the other dishes/spice levels. He said that Nepal extends to the low elevations and has wide flat rivers with *crayfish*. The crayfish are a real delicacy and, because they are hard to get here, he uses shrimp instead. Sounded fair to me. Regarding the other dishes, he said everything is authentic and the levels of spice are the same as his mother used to prepare. He claims that they do make occassional substitutions when a certain type of bean/lentil is not available, but for the most part, a traveller to Kathmandu should be able to eat food which is identical in look, taste, and ingredients. I agree; this is a *GREAT* place for dinner (or for an all-you-can-eat weekday lunch buffet).