QUAINT EXCELLENCE
Taj Mahal serves delicious Indian standards in a quirky setting
If you’ve ever made a dining decision based on which option provided the best bread, you might enjoy Taj Mahal for nothing else but it’s naan.
This venerable Indian restaurant on Carlisle NE serves some of the freshest, hottest naan in town, and if you go during the lunch hour any day of the week, you can eat as much naan as you want for less than $13.
During a recent visit to the restaurant’s lunch buffet ($12.95 per person), I was treated to two types of tandoor-baked naan: the traditional variety and a garlic version. Both were phenomenally good.
Also delicious was the murg tikka makhani, a traditional chicken dish cooked in a light tomato sauce with cream and spices. This is a delicate, non-spicy dish that would appeal to any palate — the mostly dark-meat chicken is slow-cooked in the sauce so it’s so tender you can cut it with a fork.
Over a bed of rice, this is one of the most wholesome, filling and delicious meals in town.
Everything in the buffet line is tasty, but the makhani stood out for its subtle, buttery flavor. Another chicken dish, this one in curry, was also good, though slightly spicier than the makhani. The saag paneer is a vegetarian dish made of sauteed spinach with homemade cheeses and cream, and it reminded me of an American appetizer, though it had the consistency of ranch dressing.
Several vegetable offerings, as well as a fresh fruit cart, finish off the buffet
offerings, and the perfect way to end the meal is with a dessert mango custard with fresh, plump grapes.
From an atmospheric standpoint, a lot is going on at Taj Mahal. From the busy parking lot to the confusing interior design, the place might be overlooked by newcomers in favor of something more familiar.
The interior feels like it was designed by M.C. Escher, and I counted four dining levels. Stairs intersect and divide rooms. The exterior of the building bears no architectural resemblance to the interior.
Still, the food makes up for aesthetic shortcomings. The allyou-can-eat lunch buffet is definitely worth a visit. Most of the diners are regulars, and they have long since accepted the idiosyncratic architecture in favor of a classic, fresh meal.
Kid-friendly menu items are available, but American items (such as cheeseburgers) are not. Children with picky palates will enjoy several of the chicken dishes, and diners can order off the full menu during the lunch buffet.
When searching for Taj Mahal, don’t expect a grand palace on the scale of its Asian namesake. Instead, give the humble little restaurant a chance to be transported to India through its food.