Good choices: Shrimp chaat; vegetable pakoras; murg tikka; chicken do-piaza; lamb tikka ma sala; beef vindaloo; aloo paratha.
Credit cards: All major cards accepted.
Access: Street-level entry.
INDIAN CAFE
1665 Beacon St., Brookline
(617) 227-1752
Restaurant reviewed 12/05/97 by Adam Pertman
The world of Indian restaurants is not only heavily populated, it's also quite diverse. Its inhabitants range from funky holes in the wall, like some of those lining Mass. Ave. in Cambridge's Central Square, to swankier (and pricier) establishments such as India Paradise in Newton.
Where Boston-area Indian eateries don't differ much, though, is in their menus - which don't tend to stray far from traditional offerings. The good news is that traditional Indian food is appetizing in most of its forms, so the trick is to find a place that cooks it well and presents it in an ambience that suits your mood.
That's where Indian Cafe in Brookline comes in. It's neither a funky joint nor a white tablecloth establishment, but something in between: a comfortable and attractive restaurant with appealing art on the walls and attentive waiters at the tables. Best of all, the food here is consistently tasty, and some of the dishes are downright mouth-tingling delicious.
We particularly liked the vindaloos, dishes named for the sauce that drenches some of the spicy-hottest offerings on any Indian menu, and which is available here with chicken ($8.45), shrimp ($10.45), lamb ($8.45), or beef ($8.50). As in many Indian dishes, vegetables - here potatoes and onions - are mixed into these stew-like concoctions.
Another big hit was the vegetarian platter ($4.95), a generous appetizer that features an array of fried palate-pleasers served with a couple of mild-to-medium-hot dipping sauces. Included are samosas, spicy turnovers stuffed with veggies; pakoras, little balls of chickpea batter enveloping contents that jut out in all directions; aloo tikkis, the Indian version of a potato knish; and paneer pakoras, which contain a nice homemade cheese. Each item is also available separately for $2.50, except the samosas, which cost $1.95.
Another starter also caught our fancy: the shrimp chaat ($3.95). It's essentially a cold salad of vertically sliced grilled shrimp, cubed cucumber, and chunks of tomato on a bed of lettuce, all tossed in slightly sweet-pungent dressing. It's offered as a first course but might be even better as a cool, pleasing side dish or mid-meal palate cleanser.
Like many restaurants featuring cuisine that's usually served fiery back home, Indian Cafe assumes many of its patrons want a milder version of the real thing, so the waiters dutifully ask whether you want each item mild, medium, or hot. That has the unfortunate effect of altering the authenticity of some dishes and of putting a damper on the chef's creativity, but it does protect the digestive systems of those diners who have little tolerance for soaring spices. It's an imprecise way of ordering food, however, since it's so subjective. For instance, we asked for serious heat in the chicken do-piaza ($8.95), a combination of boneless white meat pan-roasted with onions, tomatoes, and savory spices. But, while the dish was very good, it wasn't more than a medium by our heat scale. Conversely, even though the lamb curry ($8.50) was delicious, it was requested with just medium spicing but arrived with far more tang than the chicken.
Both of the native Indians who served us were friendly, efficient, and particularly helpful to those among us who weren't familiar with some of the offerings.
One of those was the murg tikka ($8.95), a variation on tandoori chicken, in this case cubed and served on skewers in a smooth yogurt sauce. For the uninitiated, tandoori chicken is a lovely dish as well as a tasty one - with a golden-reddish color that derives from soaking in a spiced yogurt marinade and then baking in a traditional clay oven called a tandoor. It's a good choice for anyone, but especially for those who don't care for curries or other distinctive-tasting Indian staples.
Other meats also find their way into the tandoor, with similarly good effects. Of those we tried, the favorite was the lamb tikka masala ($9.95). The roasting produced lamb that was succulent and tender, and the creamy tomato sauce was as delicate as described on the menu.
Good sauces are essential in Indian restaurants. That's so you've got something to mop up with your Indian breads, which are delicious on their own and spectacular when soaked with sauce. All the breads we tried were delectable, from the simple nan (an unleavened round for $1.95), to the onion kulcha (baked white bread stuffed with onions for $2.50), to the aloo paratha (whole wheat packed with spiced potatoes and cooked on a griddle for $2.50).
Tips & hits
