I usually only review restaurants on Yelp.
I have a bunch of supermarkets I love - but I keep my opinions on those to myself.
(Steve W. already knows I have extremely high regards for HEB.)
That said, the Desi Brothers on Parmer Lane has a restaurant associated with it.
Vipul Kitchen.
It is take out only but it is totally reviewable.
It is part and parcel of Desi Brothers.
A preliminary note first on Desi Brothers as a supermarket.
* * *
Desi Brothers is by far my favorite Indian supermarket in Austin.
When their only location was at Brodie and William Cannon,
I would drive all the way down South because that was the place I wanted to shop.
So I am thrilled they are now up closer to where I live.
I am not a fully proficient Indian cook ...
And you would NOT want to eat the Indian food that comes out of my kitchen.
I do buy a lot of Indian pre-mades though.
I am a sucker for Indian pickles and chutneys ...
All my Indian friends tell me that they or their mother make better pickles than store-bought at home.
I also buy vast amounts of irradiated pre-made Indian food in the little silver bags.
Again my Indian friends look at me like a pathetic case when I tell them I love this stuff.
Once again, they tell me they or their mother make better etc etc etc.
But they or their mother spend four hours everyday in the kitchen.
I just open up the silver bag, dump it in a bowl and eat it without even microwaving it.
Tastes just fine to this boy.
If you are in the market for chutneys, pickles, sauces, or premades in the little silver bags,
The selection at Desi Brothers blows away the selection at any other Indian grocery store in town.
For me, that makes shopping at Desi Brothers at easy call.
And if you want dal, or regular beans, or produce or spices or whatever,
They got all that good stuff too in a fine selection and looking fresh and good.
So Desi Brothers is good shopping.
* * *
Now the for Yelp Part.
Vipul Kitchen which is their restaurant.
Vipul Kitchen is absolutely positively first rate.
Indian restaurants for us Anglo people tend to serve appetizers that are nice and bland.
Get your expedition pith helmet, or your Downton Abbey clothes for dinner at nine.
You are now part of the Raj.
Appetizers at Vipul Kitchen are markedly spicier than those made for us Anglos.
Spicier means tastes better.
I had a selection of such appetizers including two forms of Samosas.
I loved them all.
I also did a Manchurian Gobi.
If you have kids who do not like cauliflower, get them an order of Manchurian Gobi.
They will wolf it down and ask for more.
Now, Manchurian Gobi is good everywhere.
It is one of those things like chocolate pie that are never bad.
The Manchurian Gobi here has cauliflower pieces that are larger than I am used to ... and the sauce is darker than I am used to.
But it is still the same fine dish.
I would eat three servings of it happily.
The menu overall at Vipul Kitchen has little of the saag, madras or vindaloo that come from the Anglo Curry House tradition.
The menu heavily looks like the dishes I get in my little silver pre-made bags,
although the versions here are freshly made.
Paneer in a number of sauces.
Chole (chickpeas) in a number of sauces.
Dal.
Korma - which DOES appear on some Anglo menus.
There are a lot of chaats and a lot of appetizers.
I am often dubious about getting take-out when it has to sit in my car
Or the delivery car
Until you can get it home and eat it.
Indian cuisine may be one of the few cuisines where this is not a problem.
Nearly all of the items on their menu will wait happily
Until you get them home and reheat them.
They don't need the sauces they come with ...
But the sauces are good enough for extra entertainment.
* * *
Overall, you can get fine take home Indian cuisine at Vipul Kitchen.
And if you want to spend six hours the next day in the kitchen making authentic real deal Indian food ...
They have all the ingredients you will need at Desi Brothers
And some of the specialized cookware you will need to do the job right.
I am dumping some of their pickle on a can of tuna fish and going for a walk in the country. read more