Indian – Page 2 – The Unvegan

8/1/2011 Reviews Mobile

No Veggies at No Tomatoes! (CLOSED)

By name and color, No Tomatoes! has the makings of an amazing food truck. The name implies an amazing lack of the vegetable known as the tomato (I don’t care if it’s anatomically a fruit, so is a cucumber and you don’t see anyone calling that a fruit) and the orange coloration that enshrouds the truck makes it look beautiful. Oh and if the name doesn’t give it away, it serves up Indian food. But hidden in this supposed gem of a truck is deception. For there is one dish at No Tomatoes! that actually contains tomatoes: Tikka Masala. So while they were serving up lies with Tikka Masala, I looked to other options.

Food Trucks Indian Los Angeles Meat Mobile No Tomatoes! North Hollywood

9/27/2010 Reviews Chicago

Splitting Crepes at La Creperie

After a couple of days in Michigan, it was off to Chicago for a wedding, but I wasn’t going to let the wedding get in the way of my feeding. My sister, a Chicagoan for the past few years, recommended we head to La Creperie, so to La Creperie we went. Having been to La Creperie a few times in the past, I was pretty excited to grab some lunch there. The place has a great outdoor courtyard that is perfect for those Chicago summers. If only they could last for more than 3 months.

Brunch Chicago Crepes French Illinois Indian Lincoln Park Restaurants Travel

7/8/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

Attempting to be Unvegan at HealthyCA

Somehow, some way, I was convinced to go to a restaurant in North Hollywood called HealthyCA (pronounced hel-the-ka, rather than Healthy California) . The very name offends me, but I have chosen a life of open mindedness, as opposed to the closed-minded lifestyle so many vegans choose. I must admit, though, that I feared this place, and not because it was healthy, but because so many people associate vegetables with a healthy diet. Us unvegans know they are wrong, but it is hard to convince vegans to pay attention to facts.

Chicken HealthyCa Indian Los Angeles Meat North Hollywood Restaurants

5/27/2010 Reviews Los Angeles

An Un-Special Lunch at Salomi

In my ceaseless attempt to find great unvegan food, the Valley has become my newest stomping ground. No, I didn’t just wake up one day and decide that there must be tons of hidden food gems in the Valley…my newish job made that decision for me. Right down the street from my office in North Hollywood is an Indian place called Salomi Indian Restaurant and one day at lunch we decided to check it out. The interior was a little bit fancy for lunch, but we were seated quickly. I took a look at the menu we were given and discovered that the prices were also a bit fancy for lunch. Just as I was feeling disheartened, one of my genius co-eaters asked if there was a special lunch menu. Our waitress said, “Yes” and we rejoiced.

Bangladeshi Indian Los Angeles Meat North Hollywood Restaurants Salomi

2/1/2010 Reviews Mobile

Fighting for Frankies at India Jones

I visited the India Jones truck at good old First Fridays evening on Abbot Kinney. The area was pretty packed, but I had been following India Jones on Twitter and was eager to try them out. When I got there, Mr. Jones himself was dealing with a horrible skater punk who had decided to steal a can of Pellegrino. It was an uncomfortable situation, because the skater guy was obviously a terrible person, and luckily someone stepped in and grabbed the can to return to Jones. One of his idiot friends decided to hit the truck with his skateboard and ran away, because he was like a child, and although Jones chased after him, it was to no avail, the buffoon had gotten away. After seeing this, my hunger for some food from this truck grew even more. Jones was willing to defend his truck and fight against dumb hooligans, so I was happy to support. And by support I mean order food.

Abbot Kinney First Fridays Food Trucks Frankie India Jones Indian Lamb Los Angeles Meat Mobile Venice

11/6/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Getting Spicy at Agra Indian Kitchen

With one of those strange restaurant.com gift certificates in hand, my girlfriend and I set off to try Agra Indian Kitchen in Venice. Kitchen is an appropriate name for the place because it was only slightly larger than a kitchen. Luckily, though, one table was open when we arrived and we were seated immediately.

The menu looked pretty good, despite its massive vegetarian section. I was stuck in the bread are for a long time, trying to figure out which sort of naan or other bread we should get to start the meal. In the end, we kept it pretty simple with garlic naan , but also experimented with some cheese naan. The cheese naan was kind of like an Indian version of a quesadilla. There wasn’t a ton of cheese in it, but the bread was like an edible pillow, in a good way.

Agra Indian Kitchen Chicken Indian Los Angeles Meat Naan Restaurant.com Restaurants Tandoori Venice

9/15/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Getting My Goat at Ambala Dhaba (CLOSED)

Finding ourselves in Westwood without any idea where to eat, my roommates and I walked into Ambala Dhaba. None of us had looked the place up online, nor had it been recommended, but we were feeling risky.

A look at the menu revealed a whole lot of vegetarian dishes, but also some meaty Indian dishes I had never heard of and was excited to try. Tucked under the glass on the table was their beer special, Bell beer from Uganda for only $3 a glass. I wasn’t sure why Ugandan beer had found itself at an Indian restaurant, but it would definitely be something new for me.

Ambala Dhaba Curry Goat Indian Los Angeles Meat Restaurants Westwood

8/10/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

Finally, Some Indian Food at Gate of India

Ok, yes I know I sort of reviewed some Indian food last week from Tara’s, but that was really Himalayan. So when I went to Gate of India in Hollywood, it was essentially my first time getting some full-on Indian food since moving to LA.

A buddy of mine took me to the place because it was the best Indian he had yet found in LA. Although he is Jewish, I took his work for it. Gate of India isn’t exactly what you would imagine for a place in Hollywood. It’s in a nondescript little row of shops on a street corner. The interior conveys a sense of a banquet hall more than an ethnic restaurant, but fortunately the prices weren’t so painful, with just about everything on the menu coming in under 10 bucks.

According to my research, somewhere between 20-40% of the population of India are vegetarian. This would be enough to frighten away many meat eaters from Indian restaurants, but not me. That means the majority is still of the meat-eating persuasion. The menu at Gate of India reflected this, because while a majority of the food was meat-laden, there was still a pretty extensive vegetarian section.

California Chicken Curry Gate of India Hollywood Indian Lamb Los Angeles Meat Restaurants Vindaloo

8/3/2009 Reviews Los Angeles

The Himalayan Experience at Tara’s

Tara’s in Palms is another little restaurant I’ve driven or walked by many times and wondered what great things wait inside. Finally, I was craving some Indian food, so I took a step inside. Now, to be clear, Tara’s isn’t a straight-up Indian restaurant. Rather, it is Himalayan, aka Indian with a twist of Nepalese and Tibetan. I think this gives the place a bit more character than just plain Indian cuisine.

To start the meal right, I asked the waitress what beer I should order. She recommended a bottle of Old Monk beer, so I took her advice. This was a great Indian lager beer that was especially good, because it came in one of those tall bottles that you can only seem to find at ethnic restaurants.

Curry Himalayan Indian Los Angeles Meat Nepalese Palms Restaurants Tara's Himalayan Tibetan

1/23/2009 Reviews Heathrow

The Crown Rivers

This is as good as British food gets... — This is as good as British food gets…

Being stuck in London’s Heathrow airport, I was sure I wouldn’t be able to find anything to eat beyond a bag of “crisps” and a bottle of Irn-Bru…gag. I was actually surprised when I found myself with a decent selection of restaurants. After carefully checking out each menu and price (since the British pound is worth about 1.5 dollars) , I settled on The Crown Rivers. They served up mostly pub food, but also had a good-looking selection of curries. I settled on the Thai Green Chicken Curry, since I always wanted to know what green chicken tasted like…just kidding…maybe.

The ingredients listed in the curry were lemon grass, coriander, lime leaf, cumin, coconut and choi sum. None of these sounded like vegetables to me except for the choi sum. I figured I would take a risk and allow it, hoping it could be some incredible new meat I had never heard of.

Airports Bar Food Great Britain Indian London London Heathrow Meat Restaurants Thai The Crown Rivers Travel

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