Chaat Cafe - Bay Area
Indian fast food is something that has become somewhat of an oxymoron. With the high influx of Asian fast food chains ranging from Mr. Chau's to Pick up Sticks and P.F. Chang's, one can only dream of an Indian Restaurant which combines both speed with quality. Well if you're like me, looking for that quick Indian taste at a reasonable cost, Chaat Cafe is your answer.
Combining traditional Indian cuisine with a touch of Mexican influence has people raving over their "tandoori wraps." Using the traditional Indian tandoor oven, Chaat cafe blends numerous spices into its meats creating a savory taste that will melt right into your mouth. Surrounding the meat with the traditional Indian flatbread, naan, each dish comes with cucumber salad and meats can be varied between chicken tikka, lamb, and vegeterian cheese (paneer).
I've been to chaat cafe many times due to its ease in location. It seems as though they have begun to change their name to "Tandoori Oven," rightfully so. Simply put, Chaat cafe's chaat is not up to par with its tandoor wraps. The Bhel puri is a bit dry and lacks the chutney necessary to really, as Emeril would say, "kick it up another notch." The Papri chaat, though nice on a summer day, lacks flavor.
Recommendations
When going to Chaat Cafe, make sure to get the wraps. Try the Chicken Sheek Kabob wrap which is a mere 3.99 and can be made almost in the time it would take you to wait in line for Burger King. If you are looking for the real Indian touch, try the Spicy Lamb Sheek Kabob which is awesome. I also love getting a naan on the side, specifically a garlic naan and dipping it in the yogurt sauce to give the cool but spicy taste.
I would also recommending an Indian drink like thumbs up or mango lassi as that really tastes great on a summer day. However, the lassi can be heavy so make sure you have some room
OVERALL RATING
overall - four/5
health meter- your call---many dishes are healthy but the butter on the naan definitely is not
price- $ (cheap and quality)
Information:
http://www.chaatcafes.com
Location: Fremont, SF, Los Gatos (tandoori oven), Stevens creek, Berkeley
coming soon in ALMADEN (next to Johnny rockets on main street across Oakridge)
Reviews to look forward to:
Ciceros
Amber Indian Cuisine
suchit
1 Comments:
I had a rather bad experience at Chaat Cafe (Fremont). While the wraps are good, dont even think of trying the main courses (vegetarian at least). We went there hungry, ordered the Paneer Masala and the Kofta Curry and it was simply uneatable. I'm a paneer fan and can eat it pretty much all the time, but this was the one time I've let go of it - simply uneatable. The naans were not at all soft and chewey. The Kofta Curry had definately that orange food color and no taste.
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