I handed Eric R. my yelp bookmark list late on Friday night, and let him look at all of the nearby Indian options. One was about to close, so out of the three others, he chose India Palace. We recognized the area as it is across the street from ABC Cafe, one of our favorite places for dim sum. We arrived after 9, and the restaurant closes at 10, so we did indeed shut this place down!
As many yelp reviews suggested, we were greeted by everyone working in the restaurant, and all of the staff was so friendly. The menu is enormous, but Eric R. and I decided in order to try a lot of stuff, we should do the Palace Dinner for 2. However, Eric R. loves saag paneer so he wanted to try some. We ordered the Palace Dinner for 2 and then Eric R. asked for a "side of saag paneer" which ended up being a half order and he was charged for half of the cost, which was really cool since that is not on the menu that way.
We were given pappadums to start which were crispy and delicious, but needed some chutneys. The chutneys came after we ate them, accompanying our veggie samosas. Eric R. really liked the tamarind and I liked the coriander. We also had tomato chutney and raita. We also had a bowl of vegetable soup, which came out hot and with a lot of veggies. Then, a bowl of rice emerged with the dishes rogan josh (lamb with yogurt and nuts) and chicken tikka masala. Both were very delicious, but I especially liked the chicken tikka masala.
Eric R. loves fajitas, so imagine his delight when the tandoori chicken arrived on a sizzling plate surrounded by onions and a lemon. A fresh batch of naan cut into eight pieces arrived at the table too. We clearly had enough food for at least two meals each! The combination of all of the flavors was great, and we were quickly filling up. I reminded Eric R. that our dinner included dessert! We we offered a choice between brown sugar dumplings and rice pudding, and were able to order one of each. We demolished these, and they were very good.
As the restaurant was closing, we asked for to go boxes. The staff wrapped our naan in a way to prevent it from getting wet, in parchment paper and then foil. We asked for cups to take the raita and chutneys. Then we mentioned we were staying in a hotel, so they gave us thick paper plates and lots of plasticware to take with us in a separate bag, which was awesome! After having the leftovers, I can definitely say the food was delicious and that I would return to try some of the other menu items. If you love tandoori chicken, you may have to try it on a sizzling plate! read more