Taj Mahal Closed

 Ikeda writes:

 >Well, Darbar at Craig and Center is the classic. Not particularly
 excellent in any area, honestly, but i love to eat there. it has charm
 that keeps it in business interminably.

 I strongly disagree here.  Darbar USED to be the the best Indian
 place to eat until they were bought out over a year ago by the same
 people who used to run Vegetarian Delite.  VD was cited for health
 reasons on many occasions.  I don't know if Dosa Hut is owned by
 the same people who ran VD, but they're running Darbar now.  Last
 time I was there, it wasn't clean, the help wasn't friendly and the
 meals were rather tasteless.  That's when I heard about Taj Mahal.

 >Taste of India on Penn Ave in Bloomfield is good. I might have to say
 that some of their dishes are better than Darbar.

 I was there once after a co-worker recommended it.  The food wasn't
 bad, but the onion nan was horrible.  It was sprinkled with onion
 salt and I couldn't even eat it.  Hopefully, they've changed that.

 >Prince of India's food caters to attract the uninitiated diner, I think.
 The food is really "rich". Mucho cream, tongue popping spices, lots of
 meat dishes.

 Haven't tried this place yet, but a co-worker said it was pretty good.
 I was told they have a nice variety of vegetarian dishes.  Are all
 their veggie dishes loaded with cream?  If so, too bad.

 I too, am sorry to see Taj Mahal closed.  Maybe something equally
 good will take it's place?

 Tracy

 Tatsuhiro I. wrote:
 > Here's a subjective look at Indian dining in pgh. I may of left some
 > places out.

 I'd like to add my comments.

 > Well, Darbar at Craig and Center is the classic. Not particularly
 > excellent in any area, honestly, but i love to eat there. it has charm

 Charm?  You've got to be kidding!  (No offense intended.)

 > that keeps it in business interminably. It's on the cheaper side. With
 > student id (good for 10% off), two cheap veggie dishes, extra rice, a
 > 40oz beer from Chief's, and some nan, a totally yummy dinner with
 > leftovers can be had for around 11 bucks each for two people. Not too
 > shabby. $6 lunch buffet still?. And hey, make sure to ask for
 > complimentary mint chutney and tamarind sauce to dip that nan in. Darbar
 > still rules.

 Quality mediocre.  Not worth the price.

 > Taste of India on Penn Ave in Bloomfield is good. I might have to say

 I would make that *excellent*.

 > that some of their dishes are better than Darbar. Maybe slightly more

 All of their dishes are better than Darbar.

 > than darbar. lunch buffet on certain days only.
 >
 > India Garden down the street on Atwood is ok. Well, I ate there once. It
 > was much better in it's former incarnation as Mai Thai. My god, I've
 > been in pgh too long.

 India garden is very good but a little pricey.

 > Prince of India's food caters to attract the uninitiated diner, I think.
 > The food is really "rich". Mucho cream, tongue popping spices, lots of
 > meat dishes. Only ones with a liquor license.

 Sounds good, I can't wait to try it.

 > Star of India is the swankiest lookin place. On Craig. Pricier, but not
 > necessarily better. (or bigger portions, for that matter.) $7 for buffet.

 8 or 9 years ago they were great but their chef left to go to India Garden
 and now they are just mediocre and overpriced.

 > And then there's out of town, like Sree's in Sharpsburg. Could the place
 > look any worse or be more charming or have better food? Nah.

 Again with the "charming"?  Well, the owner is certainly charming.  I'll grant
 you that.  He's so cute you just want to kiss him.  But the restaurant itself
 is very much less than charming.  But who cares?  The food is great and mucho
 cheapo!

 > Dosa Hut is out on Wlm Penn Hwy? The name is a takeoff on Pizza Hut.
 > Dosas are breads that you can fix up in different ways. They do it well,
 > I hear.

 Overpriced due to captive audience from the nearby temple.  Quality okay.

 > Let's not forget the cheapest lunch in town, two homemade samosas from
 > Kapoors Indian Exports on Craig. $1.28, including tax. Mmmm..

 Never been.  Have to try it.  Love samosas!

 > I have never eaten from the cart. Never down there.
 > Damn that Taj Mahal was fine. The best indian food seen in pgh. I miss it.

 Food great but inconsistent with regard to "hotness" so that one can't reliably
 order something that one assumes to be mild without sometimes getting it too
 hot.  But the quality is always great.  Love the chicken curry.  Used to get
 the samosas but quit after too often getting them much hotter than usual.

 Kate

 As an Indian who hopefully has some idea about what good Indian food
 tastes like, I though I'd offer my comments on this thread: India Garden
 and Taste of India are the better (North) Indian restaurants in Pgh,
 though the latter is a little too rich (read greasy) for my liking
 sometimes. Darbar is just about alright, but so economical that it is an
 attractive proposition. Prince of India is probably the least
 'authentic', but the place does have a liquor license (Taste of India
 has one as well).

 But my favorite restaurant in Pgh remains Sree's, which has seen
 progressive improvements in the decor and now boasts a  pleasant enough
 ambience. The owners are trying out a new format at dinner time,
 patterned after the traditional Indian thali: the two of us got a masala
 dosa, shrimp biryani,  bowls of 4 different entrees (lamb, chicken and 2
 veggie), mango shake and gulab jamuns for $6.99 a person!! If there is a
 better dining value in Pgh, I haven't seen it yet.

 Hope this helps.

 Excerpts from netnews.pgh.food: 14-Nov-95 Re: Taj Mahal Closed Tatsuhiro
 [email removed] (2510)

 > Prince of India's food caters to attract the uninitiated diner, I think.
 > The food is really "rich". Mucho cream, tongue popping spices, lots of
 > meat dishes. Only ones with a liquor license.

 Well, I'm not sure that I'm an uninitiated diner, but I have been to the
 Prince of India twice, and I thought that it was really rather good.
 It's a bit of a pity that so much of the restaurant is taken up with a
 bar, but I have no complaints about the food. Well, except that they too
  ask that damn fool scale of one to ten question.

 And, for those who care a lot about this, there is absolutely no
 question that the table service is the best of any Indian restaurant in
 Pittsburgh.

 If you've been wondering whether to try it,  I'd suggest you do.

 Michael
 -------
 <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/">Michael Witbrock.
 [email removed]</a>