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2016-07-20
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Bindaas describes the food as a "selection of traditional fare, inspired by a variety of age old recipes and spices from the secret kitchens of India - all with a unique contemporary twist. Snack on popular street food from different nooks and corners of India." Think high-end small plates, with lots of carby fried things.The restaurant is relatively dark. On a Tuesday there was live music, and the band contained a white woman with dreads. My wife remarked that the music was "white woman with dr
The restaurant is relatively dark. On a Tuesday there was live music, and the band contained a white woman with dreads. My wife remarked that the music was "white woman with dreads music." Some songs I recall: Tracy Chapman, "You've Got a Fast Car"; Bob Marley, "No Woman No Cry"; and David Grey, "Babylon".
There are three main sections of the food menu: "Street Corner," "Small Plates," and "Curries and Mains." We ordered only off the first two. "Street Corner" consists of three sub-sections: "Pao," which the menu describes as "very similar to the Chinese 'bao'," "Naanza," which is a portmanteau of 'naan' and 'pizza,' for reasons I'm sure you can imagine, and "Chaat," which is kind of a catch-all term for a savory food cart snack. We got one of each of these, plus two things off the small plates menu. It was too much food.
The pao (from Portugese 'pao,' frequently 'pav') we got was the keema, "minced goat, green peas, binaas spice blend" ($128). You get two soft rolls, which are not very similar to Chinese bao, but more like a cafeteria-style dinner roll, and then a pot of goat and peas. "Sloppy joe" was what came to my mind. I was a little disappointed, as I couldn't really tell that this was goat. If you told me it was beef, I would've been 100% sold. I think the spices ultimately mask the flavor of the meat and then the roll isn't all that great.
This is from the small plates menu, the 'Dosa' Chili Cheese Roast ($98), "Mini Rice Pancakes, Cheese & Chili Stu ffing, Red & White Chutney, Gun Powder." I liked this. It had a decent spiciness, a nice cheesy flavor, and came in a dosa wrapper that was floppier and less crispy than a dosa. It's not must-try, but it is good.
The naanza we chose was the khurmi, "Medley of Tossed Vegetables, Indian Herb Mix" ($118). We wanted to get some vegetables in the meal. The naanza is a piece of naan, this one pretty thick and dense, covered in a topping and then I think mozzarella cheese on top, though the menu says "cheese mix," so maybe something else as well. I couldn't really identify the vegetables, because I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention, but I do think I got some kind of pickly green pepper at one point. This is a large menu item suitable for a meal for one.
Our chaat was the sev puri, "Savoury Canapés, Boiled Potatoes, Trio of Chutneys, Fried Chickpea, 'Micro Vermicelli'" ($78). It comes on top of puri, an unleavened, fried bread that is airy and crispy. On top of that is mashed potatoes and chutney, both cold, and sprinkled with sev (the 'micro vermicelli'), crunchy chickpea-flour noodles. I think I liked this least: cold mashed potatoes are just not my thing.
The final dish of the night was the Hat-Trick!, "Battered Cottage Cheese - 3 ShapesCrusts & Dips" ($118). I take back my earlier comment, this was what I liked the least. Deep-fried paneer is just not any good. Paneer is already pretty low-moisture and dense, but this is dry as the desert and dense as the Earth's core. Or something. There's no cheesy meltiness, no cheesy tanginess, just dry flavorless nothing that makes you wonder why you're even trying to eat it, until you give up and don't.
I'll admit that I was fairly disappointed in this restaurant. We tried to make a meal of small plates, but the small plates menu consists mostly of, on the one hand, meat, chicken, and seafood, and on the other hand, starchy things like potatoes, pancakes, and patties. We wound up with a meal that was pretty heavy everywhere, and I don't think that's just bad decision making on our part. We didn't order off the "curries and mains" section, but my guess is that's the best place to find a balanced meal here. Total bill was $850 for the above, two cocktails, and two beers.
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