There is a new Indian food place opened in Oakland, operated by the family who runs the food cart on Thackeray, by Bellefield Presbyterian. The restaurant is on Atwood St., I think where the departed Mexican place was (the one with the quarters in the burritos). :) The food is presented as home cooked natural Indian food. It is reasonably plain food, not a lot of creamy sauces like you would find in many Indian restaurants, but good, and reasonably priced. The place is called Taj Mahal (same as the cart). The hours are 11:30-2:30 (a lunch buffet for 4.99 plus tax - a good deal indeed), and 4:30(?)-9 for dinner. I've been at both times of the day and it was pretty much empty (you know, the lack of advertising syndrome), but the food was fresh and quite good. I recommend giving it a try if you are around Oakland for lunch - the buffet is really a deal - we stuffed ourselves today - the buffet and a paratha came to $5.50 a person including tax. The chick peas were very good, as was the okra (neither of which are dishes I normally enjoy, but these were very tasty!). There was also chicken curry, a dal dish, and eggplant dish, rice of course, a sweet yogurt/rice sauce, and lettuce and tomatoes. Plenty of stuff for the vegatarian appetite as well as the omnivores among us. I think they are still a little disorganized. There was no wait for the food, but no one was in the dining room when we walked in and we just made a little noise until someone came out. As for lunch, it's pretty much choose a table and help yourself to the buffet. The grandmother was running the kitchen at lunch time and making the parathas, and her English I think consists of "you like?" and "OK?". But that's fine - at least you can be pretty sure the food is authentic. There is a floor show of sorts - the littlest daughter of the couple who run the cart just comes out and chats with the customers - she's 4 and quite a charmer. Her father kind of herded her out of the dining room when he thought she was bothering us, so if you prefer your food without the entertainment, I'm sure that can be accomadated. It was fun, however. Give it a try- Kathleen
Pittsburgh, PA