Maharajah is a new Indian restaurant which has opened up downtown, a mere “stone’s throw” away from City Hall. If you’re in the area, it’s advisable not to test this “stone’s throw theory” as the main headquarters of the Calgary Police Service is also in the vicinity and it may be frowned upon by the riot squad. That being said, the boys in blue apparently turn a blind eye when it comes to homeless men drinking scotch in front of the public library. So have at‘er, Mr Johnnie-Walker-plus-or-minus-paper-bag!! (matt)

I actually discovered Maharajah after a different review while driving home from matt’s place.  I’ll often cruise around the NE and Forest Lawn looking for hookers new restaurants, but I really didn’t expect to just stumble on one while cutting through downtown.  It’s a testament to the extent of our obsession that our response to seeing a new Indian restaurant is not unlike that of a child finding out a new playground is being opened across the street.  (ren)

Coming off the C-Train at City Hall, you can smell the curry. It’s almost intoxicating in itself. The homeless guys should just hang out in front of Maharajah and save their money.  We didn’t waste any time heading into the restaurant and were greeted by a very welcoming waiter. The décor is posh enough and has been described as “date friendly”. There are also bollywood movies playing discreetly in the background, so if you’re on a first date you’ll definitely have something to talk about. This is unless your buddy set you up with his mute co-worker.  (matt)

It’s quite nice inside.  The best part is that they don’t seem like they’re trying TOO hard.  It’s classy but understated, and it’s “Indian” without seeming like they bought the décor out of a catalog.  It would definitely be appropriate for a date, heck, you could probably even bring your date’s parents here for one of those wonderfully awkward get-togethers.  Of course, to test a potential girlfriend’s compatibility I would personally take them out to one of the dodgier places in town and observe the reaction. But for all you “normal” readers out there who think curry is a good first date, and think that you would enjoy a second date, Maharajah would be a good choice.  (ren)

While we looked over the ample options on the menu, we were presented with complimentary pappadums and a very thick but good mango chutney. Hoping to finally find a replacement for Namskar’s now defunct tomato soup, Ren decided we should each try a bowl.  Maharajah’s soup was decent but needed to be a lot creamier in order to compare. In its favour, there was a fair amount of coriander in the dish, which we always appreciate.  Our mango lassis came with ice and we made a pact to demand no ice when ordering in the future. No sense leaving it up to chance anymore. The drinks were decent enough. (matt)

It’s really disappointing when you get too much ice in a lassi.  Especially if you’re saving the drink till you get your main course to use as a fire extinguisher it’s really disappointing when it’s thoroughly watered down.  Of course it’s also disappointing when you guzzle it like a fiend and end up with a ¾-full glass of ice.  I think the Indian food community should institute a policy like A&W where they serve their drinks in-house in a frosted mug, and have the lines chilled for take-out.  I would, however, leave out the Root Beer Bear and the Chubby Chicken.  The soup was ok.  I just have such a good memory of the soup at namskar that I’ll probably be chasing the dragon forever.  Namskar’s was like slightly runny butter chicken sauce.  Liquid gold.  This was good, but not that good. (ren)

For entrees, Ren went with a house speciality, the Raan-e-Maharajah. It’s described as a “young lamb leg marinated and roasted in the tandoor”. Ren correctly pointed out that the use of the terms “young” and “lamb” was rather redundant. Examination of the take out menu revealed further awkwardness in the description of lamb, where under “Choice of Lamb or Beef”, only lamb dishes are listed with the one traditional beef dish (Keema Mutter) being described as minced lamb and peas. Nonetheless, in the end, Ren got a king’s dish and seemed pleasantly surprised with it. (matt)

The Raan-e-Maharajah was fantastic.  The dish was served as a monstrous Fred Flintstone lamb bone in sauce surrounded by smaller chunks of boneless lamb.  Lots of wonderful curry flavour and the meat was tender, juicy and lamb-a-rific.  It was so good that it actually inspired me to invent the word lamb-a-rific (submission to the Oxford’s Dictionary people pending).  This was the most meat I’ve ever seen in an Indian entrée, except for the mixed tandoori platters, but those have no sauce so they’re kinda boring. If you’ve got a ravenous carnivore in your dining party I would recommend pointing them towards this dish.  If you have a ravenous herbivore in your group I would suggest they go eat a tree.  If you have a ravenous omnivore I’d suggest they go eat a tree with a magpie in it. (ren)

I ordered Prawn Madras. There was no shortage of large prawns in this dish. I couldn’t really make up my mind as to whether or not the shrimp was overdone. Ren didn’t think so. But the seafood didn’t bother me as much as the sauce for the dish. It’s described as a “star anise coconut gravy”. In most cases, when Indian restaurants use the term “gravy”, it just means a generic thick sauce. This time around, my sauce actually tasted like gravy. Just like my high school cafeteria lunch lady made for the fries. It wasn’t horrible; it just went oddly with the prawns. Ren was more concerned that the star anise would poison me.  Herein lies an example where using more descriptors is helpful (unlike “young lamb”). Chinese star anise is a common ingredient in curries.  Japanese star anise contains a GABA antagonist that causes neurotoxicity like seizures and myoclonic jerks.  Once during our meal, Ren became concerned when I started having vertical nystagmus. I assured him it was only the PCP I had abused before dinner. Ultimately, my dish was alright but not recommended.  The naan was amongst the best we’ve had downtown and there was nothing wrong with the rice. (matt)

Matt’s prawn sauce was a bit odd.  I was impressed with the quantity of shrimp he received though.  Usually it seems when you get a prawn dish it has 2-3 shrimp in it and that’s it but this one was loaded.  Matt survived his Star Anise scare so I guess we can’t dock their score for that. (ren)

Here’s a tip: We finished our meals and the waiter asked us if we wanted dessert.  We declined and he brought us a free dessert anyways. After the dessert was presented to us, I asked the waiter what the name of the dessert was. He informed me it was called “Ice Cream”. This made me feel like a dumbass. When I called it a mixture of Strawberry, Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream, Ren informed me it was better known as “Neapolitan”. Well, La-di-dah Mr. High Faluting Scholar!  He probably calls his car-hole a “garage”.  What a dolt.   (matt)

It was pretty amusing because matty had just finished telling me about the pistachio kulfi (ice cream) he got while in New York, and then the waiter sets down the two bowls of ice cream.  I think matty was just so hopeful that it would be a repeat of the NYC kulfi that it shut down his brain.  “What do we have here? What do you call this dish?”…..”er….ice cream”…. Priceless.  Unless you’re a major gulab jamin freak, I’d hold out for the ice cream.  (ren)

My meal was worth about 7 points but Ren felt his caveman bone of lamb was closer to a high 8. The free ice cream sweetened my attitude so we’ll give Maharajah an 8 in hopes it spurs more people to eat there. After all, the downtown competition is stiff when it comes to curry and it’s difficult to break into the scene.

Not at the Restaurant:

1. Roberto Peria (Mayor of Elba Island)
2. Waldorf  (Old Man in Muppets Balcony)
3. Alexander Walker (Son of Johnnie)

Rating: