We experience India at Shandaar and Kashmir

[Robin Garr]

We experience India at Shandaar and Kashmir

LEO's Eats with Robin Garr

The goat biryani at Shandaar was a little disappointing ...


India! To Western eyes, it is one of the most exotic of lands. India seems very far away, and yet it is strangely familiar in ways that draw us in. In your mind's eye, think about the Taj Mahal in moonlight: Those shimmering white marble domes look like nothing you'd ever expect to see in Louisville, yet its strangely compelling beauty transcends time and space.

India! Land of languages, cultures and beliefs that seem strange to us. Land fiery foods that scare us. Some of us, anyway.


But familiarity breeds, well, friendship, and if we make an effort to get to know India, we find it's not as different as we think. Even India's primary languages stem - through Sanskrit - from the same ancient Indo-European languages as all the languages of Europe do, including English.

Not only India's languages, but its DNA and some of their basic folkways remain connected to us, however distantly. There's good reason why Buddhist enlightenment and Hindu karma don't seem that alien to Westerners, and have fascinated figures like Thomas Merton and the Beatles.

But, you say, isn't the food strange and scary? Well, it did take Louisville a long time to warm up to it; only a few tried, and none stuck, until Shalimar came along in the 80s, followed by Taj India and Kashmir. Now we've got a dozen, and I hope they all live long and prosper.

I love Indian food, and responded to that affection recently with dinners at a couple of Indian spots that I had earmarked for return evening visits: Kashmir, one of the local Indian pioneers; and Shandaar, the most recent Indian arrival.

Right at the start, let's be clear: Both meals were good. But the details in each case somewhat up-ended my expectations. . A buffet lunch last year at Kashmir had been a little better than so-so, with the limited service that one needs or expects at a buffet. Our recent lunch at Shandaar had been remarkable: Buffet fare that ranged from very good to outstanding, with a level of table service that I’d have expected from a fancier meal at an upscale dining room.

In our more recent visits, though, Kashmir’s dinner selections were very good and consistently so, but service – as I’ve regretfully come to expect at Kashmir – ranged from seemingly uninterested to marginally sullen. A language-barrier issue? Perhaps. But I’m sorry, folks; smiles speak a universal language, and frowns do, too.

Shandaar, in contrast, brought courteous and competent bilingual service to our large group’s oversize table, and the food certainly wasn’t bad. But several of the dishes fell short of the “wow” factor that we had enjoyed at Shandaar for lunch;, and one or two dishes were frankly disappointing. On balance, it’s still fine, and I’d gladly go back. But I would like to see Shandaar’s kitchen kick its consistency up a notch. ...

Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/?p=5302

See this column also in LEO Weekly:
http://www.leoweekly.com/2015/06/we-exp ... d-kashmir/

Shandaar Indian Restaurant
1801 Priority Way
261-7391
http://shandaarlouisville.com
https://facebook.com/ShandaarIndianRestaurant
Robin Garr's rating: 87 points

Kashmir Indian Restaurant
1277 Bardstown Road
473-8765
Robin Garr's rating: 86 points

I happened to drive by Shandaar today and got a little confused about whether it's open. Banners on the building say "Opening soon, new management," while the sign near the road says "Open now." The website says it's closed for remodeling.

[Robin Garr]

Awww, man! That was a really good family operation with an excellent cook. I did wonder about the location and the size of the facility ... I was afraid it might be hard to make the numbers work.

Thanks for the report, Rich, even if it doesn't sound like good news.

My wife had a horrible experience at Kashmir. We ordered food and were going to do carry-out using a coupon, because the coupon said nothing about not being valid for carry-out. Indeed, it said nothing of the sort in either direction, so it's only natural to assume that it can be used at any time for any reason. Food ordered, waiting for pickup, she goes in to get it using the coupon, and they flat out refuse to take the coupon. Any appeal to reason, and actually pointing out the coupon says nothing about that, was met with, you guessed it, sullen indifference from the kid at the counter and rudeness from the guy in charge. The food isn't that good anyway (certainly not worth the price you pay and definitely not worth putting up with bad attitudes) so now when I want Indian food, I'll drive right past it and keep going to Dak Shin or Bombay Grill.

[Robin Garr]

Any appeal to reason, and actually pointing out the coupon says nothing about that, was met with, you guessed it, sullen indifference from the kid at the counter and rudeness from the guy in charge.

Sorry to hear that, Ron. If that happened to me, Mary would probably have to haul me back to keep me out of jail.

That part is consistent with what I said in the review in the original post:

In our more recent visits, though, Kashmir’s dinner selections were very good and consistently so, but service – as I’ve regretfully come to expect at Kashmir – ranged from seemingly uninterested to marginally sullen. A language-barrier issue? Perhaps. But I’m sorry, folks; smiles speak a universal language, and frowns do, too.

In fairness, on recent visits the food has been decent-to-better-than-average. But I can't quibble with your comment about driving past it to get to Bombay Palace or DakShin. Or, for that matter, Taj India.

Sorry to hear that, Ron. If that happened to me, Mary would probably have to haul me back to keep me out of jail.

Fortunately it didn't happen to me, because I would've been in the same boat. She just left the food and walked out, so instead of selling two meals at a discount, they sold no meals and had to eat the food cost. I'm not surprised that the service hasn't gotten better.

In fairness, on recent visits the food has been decent-to-better-than-average. But I can't quibble with your comment about driving past it to get to Bombay Palace or DakShin. Or, for that matter, Taj India.

After that experience, I'm not going to go back for decent to better than average. They'd have to blow my mind for me to forgive that, and it was usually just okay when I didn't have emotional baggage. Treating me like dirt is one thing, because I'll get mad and push back. She's not that way.

[Robin Garr]

Treating me like dirt is one thing, because I'll get mad and push back. She's not that way.

Hoping that's just a starter pistol in your avatar ...

Good news, I just got a notice from Shandaar announcing their grand reopening after renovation. I can't imagine their buffet getting better, the have Malai Kofta at least once a week, which I never see at the others. I had a less than stellar last visit to Kashmir, felt We were interrupting them by the totally impersonal service. No eye contact type. I still love Bombay and the staff is SO nice.

[Robin Garr]

Good news, I just got a notice from Shandaar announcing their grand reopening after renovation. I can't imagine their buffet getting better, the have Malai Kofta at least once a week, which I never see at the others. I had a less than stellar last visit to Kashmir, felt We were interrupting them by the totally impersonal service. No eye contact type. I still love Bombay and the staff is SO nice.

Oh, I'm so glad to hear that, Linda! I was afraid they were gone. I agree with you on Bombay and Kashmir, respectively, but would also add that Taj India is close to my workplace and is also good. Very nice people, decent food, and they've maintained quality through three locations (Buechel to Shelbyville Road to Goose Creek at Westport.)

I'll try that, Robin. I found out that there is no lunch buffet at Shandaar anymore, but they offer Thali, which is a several dish platter, right? I can't imagine not having buffet lunch, though.

[Robin Garr]

I'll try that, Robin. I found out that there is no lunch buffet at Shandaar anymore, but they offer Thali, which is a several dish platter, right? I can't imagine not having buffet lunch, though.

Yes, Thali is a sampler platter. Taj India does have a well-curated buffet, and at Indian restos that do them well, they are fun. Still, I'll definitely go back to Shandaar and am very happy it wasn't a goner after all.