January restaurant roundup

Tyler, Henry, and I finally tried the new Indian buffet Masalas a few weeks ago, and it completely won us over. It combined the best of both worlds—the seemingly limitless variety of a buffet, plus the quality of non-buffet food. Here I’ve got rasam (soup), uttapam, pappadum, veggie pakoras, chana masala, basmati rice, two mixed vegetable curries, masoor dal, and pulao (in the middle). And this was just my first trip to the buffet!



At Macaroni Grill, I ate the capellini tre pomodoro...kind of. I substituted whole wheat penne for the capellini, added broccoli, and asked them to go light on the oil and heavy on the garlic. It was a tomato-basil weeknight delight.



More Indian food! Tyler, Henry, and I have also fallen in love with Flavors of India (it’s quickly assumed a spot in our top three). Here, we’ve got Henry’s chana masala on top, my ghee-free dal makhani on bottom, and the mixed bread basket on the left—a piece each of naan, roti, aloo paratha, and garlic naan. I can practically smell this picture...heaven.



Here are some vegetarian spring rolls from Thai House. I love the way the sweet, tangy peanut sauce brightens up the cool, crisp, cilantro-spiked filling.



Also from Thai House is this excellent massaman curry, with tofu, potatoes, carrots, and peanuts. It was the perfect foil to the appetizer—the sauce is made thick and rich by peanut butter, coconut milk, and chile oil. The fluffy jasmine rice is a welcome way to cut the heavy curry and spread the flavors across the palate.



Finally, Brian, Brandon, and I got sushi last Friday at Jun in Prairie Village. Their vegetable roll (which I sadly neglected to photograph) was BIG and contained asparagus, yum. We all shared the tempura banana dessert, which was sooo greasy but so very good. It’s likely there was some egg in the batter, but oh well. The sweet strawberry drizzle made an unexpectedly perfect topping.



Past leftovers...
December
November
October