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Rajdoot - August 1st, 2006 |
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We’ve
been on hiatus for the last month. First with Stampede and secondly with
me moving into my new house. I’m fortunate to have friends like Ren
who are willing to help me move. To thank him, I let him take me out for
curry. (matty)
He was supposed to take me out for Thai hookers...but the relative risks
of that are a little greater than the risks of dodgy curry so we skipped
it. Also, we have no idea where to find a Thai hooker, other than at a
T-Model Ford concert. (ren)
Rajdoot is in Mission. Every good city has an area like
Mission. Munich has Schwabing. San Fran has the Marina. London: Notting
Hill. New York probably has a dozen that I’ve never heard of. Its
that area where people seem just a little bit ahead of the trends and aren’t
afraid to show off their poshness. It usually means undodgy food at a premium
price. (matt)
 We decided to bring along ang's pharmacy student Amanda
Huggenkiss. She can always be counted on for numerous tales about West
Indian cuisine (i don't think she understands that those are the wrong
kind of indians :P) the city of Halifax and her pal Godfrey. For the longest
time I thought she was referring to Gilbert Gottfried, the horribly annoying
comic....but she wasn't. (ren)
We started our night off at the Joyce on 4th.A stellar pub with the best
couch-chairs in the world. (matty) Unfortunately
this pub is a classic example of the top-shelf pricing in this type of
neighbourhood. Pint of stella $8, pint of Smithwicks $7, pint of GRASSHOPPER
$7. Thats pretty outrageous for a locally brewed beer in my opinion. (ren)
The ambiance at Rajdoot is quite inviting and does well
to breakdown a lot of the fears people have about eating Indian food. The
kitchen has a giant glass window so you can watch the tandoor chef perfect
his craft. Newbies: You’ll note a lack of rats in the kitchen. I’m
personally glad not to have a glass window at my job. It would only result
in people taking less medication. That and likely filing complaints with
the College of Pharmacists. Thank God for malpractice insurance. The menus
have an excellent dissertation on the rules of Indian food. (Ie. Use your
hands, all dishes need rice or naan, let your waiter know your level of
curry experience, suitcases full of rupees are not excepted as payment
etc) (matty)
As usual I was tempted by the buffet. It didn't seem
to have a lot of items, but enough to give you a good selection of tastes.
Next time maybe. (ren)
Ren and I had mango lassis. Amanda, perhaps forgetting
that we are the experts, scoffed at our warnings against it, and opted
to go for the salted lassi. (Read: Twisted Ass Freak). This only resulted
in her being disappointed, disgusted and giving up after 3 sips. Ours were
okay but nothing special. (matt)
After Amanda's salted lassi convinced me that I should
never EVER try new things, I decided to get the Lamb Rogan Josh. It was
very well made with a nice thick sauce and a fair bit more green pepper
than most I've had. The rice was very tasty and the naan was perfect.
Rogan Josh is a great dish for a curry newbie because it's never too spicy
and its pretty hard to screw up. Also the heavy tomato base isn't too
different than more familiar western dishes, just a little more curryified.
Downside of picking it on a review trip is that its also not really a dish
that can stand out....its pretty much always "pretty good" , "good" or "just
ok", never terrible or fantastic. (ren)
 My pick was Malai Kofta Tibet. Nothing special really
but by no means horrible. Ren’s dish was likely better. Also tempting
were the 6 or 7 seafood dishes, which they had. The Naan was pretty close
to perfect and because of it I wanted to go behind the glass window and
give the Tandoor chef a hug. Ren advised me against badgering the kitchen
staff. After the meal, the box of after dinner mints/caraway seed/anise
was a nice touch. (matty)
Overall, this was perhaps one on the safest places to
go or bring people for their first curry. Its up there
with the Taj and maybe Moti Mahal in catering to the
those who are wanting to dip their toes into the river
Masala without having to tread water while their eyes
burn from vindaloo. (If you have inadvertently gotten
vindaloo in your eyes, I am available for consultation
at the poison center: 944-1414.) You have to learn to
float before swimming in the white water. (matty)
I have no idea what the hell he is talking about. But
I agree it was a good safe pick. I'd take my mother
there to eat. Heck...I'd take YOUR mother there to
eat. And despite our concerns about the price I
personally found it to be quite reasonable. Not
cheapy-cheapy like a dominican barterer, but I felt
like I got the right value for the money. (ren)
We give it a 7/10. A good place but not nearly dodgy
enough for enthusiasts walking the narrow tightrope
between food borne illness and tasty.
Not at the Restaurant:
1. Zindane (Disgracing the occasion)
2. Doc Holiday
3. Madame Toner (My elementary school librarian. She made us look at her
slides from her trip to Israel. Damn her.)
Rating:
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