The Indian Buffet Round-Up Super Post!!!

Akbar Cuisine of India

1101 Aviation Blvd

Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

(310) 937-3800

www.akbarcuisineofindia.com

http://www.yelp.com/biz/akbar-cuisine-of-india-hermosa-beach

Priya Indian Cuisine

15651 Hawthorne Blvd

Lawndale, CA 90260

(310)675-1100

www.priyaindiancuisinela.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/priya-indian-cuisine-lawndale-2

Indian Summer

219 Main St.

El Segundo, CA 90245

(310) 322-7550

www.eatatindiansummer.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/indian-summer-el-segundo

India Grill Express

11918 Aviation Blvd

Inglewood, CA 90304

(310) 725-9842

http://www.yelp.com/biz/india-grill-express-inglewood

Rating: Akbar – 5 stars

            Priya – 4.5 stars

            Indian Summer – 3.5 stars

India Grill – 3 stars

           

Cost for Lunch Buffet: Akbar – $8

                                    Priya – $9

                                    Indian Summer – $10

                                    India Grill – $8

Review:  We recently found ourselves at Priya Indian Cuisine enjoying the lunch buffet.  I wanted to blog about our experience, but I would have to discuss it in relation to the other Indian buffets in the area.  Instead of blogging about each one separately, I thought I would put together a round-up of all the Indian buffets in the area (all the ones I’ve been to at least).

Akbar is my gold standard for Indian buffets.  It’s actually quite small (about 3 vegetarian and 3 non-veg. dishes) but what they have they do well.  The standard dishes on the buffet include Dahl (kind of like a lentil stew), Gobi Aloo (gobi means cauliflower/aloo means potato… it’s the standard Indian dish cooked with plenty of spices), Sag (spinach stew… with paneer – Indian cheese – if you are lucky), Tandoori Chicken (BBQ’d chicken pieces – without a sauce), Chicken Tikka Masala (boneless chicken in a creamy tomato curry sauce), and either a Lamb or Chicken Curry.  All of the vegetable dishes are excellent with plenty of Indian spice; the Tandoori Chicken is juicy and fresh from the Tandoor (Indian clay oven); but the Chicken Tikka Masala is the star of the show.  The secret is, they use the Tandoori Chicken to make the Chicken Tikka Masala, and so the chicken by itself is a wonderful dish.  Then they bathe it in this rich, creamy tomato sauce… I have dreams about that sauce.  Together they are a truly spectacular dish.

The lunch buffet comes with Naan (Indian flat bread) fresh from the oven that is crispy and blistered on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  If you ask (which I suggest you do!) they will give you Garlic Naan.  The freshly chopped garlic is an excellent addition to the delicious Naan they serve.  In full disclosure, my Indian friend is not as high on Akbar as I am, though I chock that up to his well documented love affair with boneless, skinless chicken breast.  The Chicken Tikka Masala is made with dark and white meat.

Priya (pronounced pre-ya), is my new addition to this list and I have to say it makes a decent challenge to Akbar for top spot.  What makes Priya unique is that they serve southern Indian cuisine on their buffet.  Almost all Indian restaurants in the US, outside of Little India, serve Northern Indian cusine (Korma, Saag, Tandoori, Aloo Gobi…), which is a real shame because Southern Indian food has great flavor and tends to be a little bit healthier.  What tips you off right away that they are serving Southern Indian Food is the Idli.  Idli is a steamed rice cake that sops up the flavor of Sambar and Rasam to make a wonderful dish.  Sambar is a thick vegetable soup made with yellow split peas (dahl in Hindi).  Rasam is a thin spicy, sour soup made with tamarind.  Sambar and Rasam are a requirement for any Southern Indian meal.   I’ve eaten at a lot of Indian buffets in my life and I’ve never seen Idli, Sambar, or Rasam on any of them.

If you like heat, you should try Southern Indian cuisine as it tends to be a bit hotter than their neighbors to the North.  Case in point, they had a dish called Chicken 65 on the buffet.  It is chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and then bathed in tons of chili peppers.  It was hot, but the reward is worth the pain.  They also serve many of the standard Northern Indian dishes.  These are pretty good too.  I would say a step up from what you get at India Grill.  The lunch buffet does come with Naan, but they were the biggest disappointment for me.  I thought they were greasy and lifeless.  Why should baked bread have pools of oil on it?

Indian Summer is located in downtown El Segundo and is the biggest buffet I have found in the area.  The main selling point here is variety and they have it in abundance with many vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.  The quality is pretty good and they tend to have a sizable lunch crowd.  That means high turn-around on the buffet and fresher dishes on your plate.  There is one dish on the buffet that looks like chicken meatballs.  I can’t recommend staying away from it enough.  It tastes like a watery sponge to me.  Naan is included on the buffet (versus being made fresh and brought to your table) which means it is usually pretty rubbery and lifeless.

India Grill is your standard Indian buffet.  It is a little bit larger than Akbar’s buffet with all the typical dishes you would expect to find.  They have a Goat Curry that is quite good and they deliver freshly baked Naan to your table.  Also, they ask you when you place your order if you would like Garlic or Plain Naan (again, I recommend Garlic).  A year or so back, a couple took over management of the restaurant.  They are quite friendly and service tends to be a step above what I normally find at Indian restaurants.  The biggest selling point for me (which I didn’t include in the rating) is that I can walk here from my office.

In terms ambiance, Indian Summer is in the nicest part of town (picturesque Main Street, El Segundo).  Akbar is the nicest on the inside and they even have cotton tablecloths.  Priya and India Grill are both in strip malls in rougher parts of town. 

-Ben

Big Mike’s Philly Steaks and Subs

507 Main St

El Segundo, CA 90245

310-726-9638

http://www.yelp.com/biz/big-mikes-philly-steaks-and-subs-el-segundo

Rating: 5 stars

Typical cost for lunch: $$ ($7 - 9)

What was ordered: Cheese Steak, Chicken Mushroom Steak, and Garlic Fries

Date of visit: 25 March 2011 (multiple previous visits)

Review:  I’ve never been to Pat’s or Geno’s in Philadelphia, but this is the best Philly Cheese Steak I’ve ever had.  They start with ribeye steak, slice it thin, and grill it up to order (without oil).  That gets piled into a freshly baked, soft and chewy, hollowed-out steak roll along with your choice of extras (grilled onions, hot peppers, sweet peppers, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, and cheese).  For a little bit more, you can add pizza sauce or grilled mushrooms to the cheese steak.  Your cheese choices include Provolone, Cheez Whiz, or white American.  I usually get Provolone but if you’re feeling authentic, I have to admit Cheez Whiz (a poor excuse for cheese) is pretty tasty on there.

Lunch Combo: 6-inch Cheese Steak and Garlic Fries

If you are looking for something a little healthier, the Chicken Philly is the same thing made with thinly sliced chicken breast.  Big Mike’s also has subs, hoagies, and salads on their menu, but I have never been able to get past the cheese steaks.  They have lunch specials; for around $8 you get a 6-inch cheese steak with a soda and chips, fries, or garlic fries.  It’s a good deal - and the garlic fries are superb – however, if I’m feeling hungry for about 50 cents more you can just get the 12-inch cheese steak.  I don’t care much for the soda, so I figure I’m trading the garlic fries for another 6 inches of sandwich.  The garlic fries are tasty (lot’s of fresh garlic), but it’s a good trade-off in my book.

12-inch Cheese Steak

Now, you should only go to Big Mike’s if you have a big appetite.  The place is usually filled with El Segundo PD, TSA officers from LAX, and men from the surrounding companies eating big hearty sandwiches.  It is hard to daintily eat a cheese steak.  If you do have a big appetite, Big Mike’s is a great place to fill it.  5 stars.

-Ben

Donna's Home Caribbean Restaurant

12855 Prairie Avenue
Hawthorne, CA 90250

http://www.yelp.com/biz/donnas-home-caribbean-restaurant-hawthorne

Rating: 3.5 stars

Typical cost for lunch: $$$ ($10-14)

What was ordered: Oxtails, Brown Stew Chicken, Homemade Pineapple-Ginger Beer

Date of visit: 11 April 2011 (1^st visit)

Review:  When you go looking for diamonds in the rough, you have to be prepared for the rough.  That was our take-away message after visiting Donna’s Home Caribbean Restaurant.  Much like Front Page Jamaican Grille, this place is a hole-in-the-wall serving Jamaican/Caribbean food in a rough part of town.  We are big fans of Front Page so we were pretty excited to try Donna’s Home.

We showed up and it took about 5 minutes before anyone appeared to take our order.  We spent the time perusing the menu which looked quite bit like Front Page’s.  When someone finally came out from back (maybe it was Donna?), she told us they had Ox Tails and Brown Stew Chicken.  I’m not sure if they just weren’t prepared for our arrival or the menu just tells possible dishes they are serving that day.  Either way I was a bit disappointed not to be able to try the Jerk Chicken. 

The menu said we had a choice of three different styles of rice (white, vegetarian, or rice & peas).  I asked what she recommended.  She said the rice & beans but only the steamed rice was available right now.  Notice neither steamed rice nor rice & beans is mentioned in the menu.  I’m not sure what matches up with what.  We opted to wait the 10 minutes while they made the rice & beans.

Like Front Page, they have a list of homemade beverages available.  I ordered a cup of the Sorrel, a sour, fruity punch made with hibiscus flowers; however like the rest of the menu only certain items were available.  We decided to try the Pineapple Ginger Beer.

Ok, now that we have dealt with some of the rough, did we find a diamond?  Well, the food was excellent.  The Ox Tail was spicy and delicious; the Brown Stew Chicken had a slight sweetness; and the beans & rice were full of flavor.  The real winner, however, was the steamed vegetables.  Front Pages’ tend to be over cooked.  Donna’s Home were full of flavor but maintained a slight crunch… very nice.  My only complaint about the food is that it was too greasy.  There were literally pools of grease at the bottom of the container.  Now Front Page isn’t health food, but they are able to maintain the same great flavor without so much fat.  The Pineapple Ginger Beer was delicious, but you got about half what you get at Front Page for the same price ($3).

Another oddity about Donna’s Home is the strong Christian vibe throughout the restaurant.  It’s the kind of place were the walls are plastered with Bible quotes.  It didn’t bother me; I figure that kind of cultural kitsch is part and parcel of getting homemade ethnic food.  I am sure it is meant to be welcoming to members of the faith.  They probably don’t realize how exclusionary it can feel if you’re not part of that faith.

Finally, when the bill came, we discovered two things: 1) they only accept cash and 2) we had ordered the small size for lunch.  I don’t mind too much that they only accept cash; I just wish they had put a sign on the door indicating that.  Lucky we had enough money to cover our meal.  Also, we had got the small size for lunch, but she never asked us which size we would like.  The small size was plenty for our big appetites (hmmm… maybe next time I will order the small at Front Page).

Evaluating Donna’s Home Caribbean Restaurant is tough.  The food was excellent, but you have to evaluate them in light of your other nearby options.  Donna’s Home has an edge on Front Page on a few things but overall Front Page is the better choice, in my mind, for lunch.  Why eat all that grease if you don’t have to get the same flavor?  Add in everything else you have to deal with when you go to Donna’s Home and Front Page is the clear winner.

-Ben

La Paz Restaurant

514 Center St

El Segundo, CA 90245

310-322-3742

http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-paz-restaurant-el-segundo-3

Rating: 4 stars

Typical cost for lunch: $-$$ ($4.50 - 9)

What was ordered: Two Super Deluxe Burritos (1 w/ chicken, 1 w/ shredded beef), Horchata

Date of visit: 21 March 2011 (1^st visit)

Review:  La Paz has been at various locations around El Segundo for over 30 years.  Currently it’s tucked into a non-descript strip mall on a side street in El Segundo.  There aren’t any other restaurants around so it is easy to miss.  The restaurant itself is your standard hole-in-the-wall, family run place.

Chips and Salsa!

La Paz looks like a great place to find authentic Mexican food and it does not disappoint.  The chips and salsa came fast and was delicious.  It tasted homemade and is the thin, spicy kind of salsa that I love.  Prices are cheap, too (burritos starting at $4.50 and combination plates $7-9), but I thought the menu was arranged oddly.  They have a section of Wet Burritos (7 choices) and a section of Dry Burritos (17 choices).  I am used to picking out my burrito and then deciding if I want it wet or not.  Under Wet Burritos, they have the Super Deluxe with a nice set of accouterments (rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole, and cheese).  Sounds great (and only $6), but it is served with ground beef.  When given a choice, who the heck chooses to put ground beef in their burrito? (you know who you are – and yes I am talking about you)  Luckily they happily let us substitute the meat choice.

Super Deluxe Burrito

The chicken was good, but the shredded beef was better.  It is slowly stewed with bell peppers and onions until it falls apart.  Who wouldn’t want to find that inside their burrito?  I wasn’t very impressed with the sauce on the outside of the burrito.  There was too much of it and kind of tasted like it came out of a can.  I was impressed with the big scoop of guacamole on top.  They give you plenty and you never can have too much guacamole.  All in all it was a good lunch at a great price.  4 stars.

-Ben