THE CRAVE: 3 course restaurant week menu for lunch
THE DESTINATION: Tamarind
The third and final stop for restaurant week stop was at Tamarind, a Michelin-star restaurant making Indian dishes from different regions of the country. If a restaurant has a Michelin star, it means it has achieved a rare feat of excellence few establishments can boast. Thus, my expectations were high and it did not disappoint.
Joining along with me was my mom who was completely satisfied with the meal from start to finish. I forgot the name of my appetizer but it was my least favorite of the three dishes. It was basically a chicken croquette and a fine appetizer but the other two courses were just better.
For the main course, you actually could choose two of the items on the menu and I choose the Tandoori Lal Maas (lamb) and Paneer (Indian cheese). The lamb was the best I’ve ever had when it comes to Indian food. The complexity of the spices and the meaty tenderness of the lamb was well done. I never had paneer before and it had the texture of eating tofu the the sauce that came with gave it some heat. It also had a slight salty flavor which went together with coconut rice.
Dessert was my top pick of the meal and a surprising one too. I originally wanted to get the other dessert which was the Indian version of ice cream called Kulfi because I wasn’t familiar with the other dish called Payasam. Payasam is rice pudding made with vermicelli or broken rice , milk and sugar. Tamarind’s version was topped with cashews. A very simple dish but I really like rice pudding and it was smooth, creamy, perfectly sweet, and the crunchy cashews gave a nice contrast in texture. For me, the simplicity of this dish wins.
Service was fast and high quality (as expected from a restaurant with a Michelin star), the place is spacious and beautiful, and Indian food Tamarind makes should please fans of the cuisine.
After 3 restaurants in 4 weeks, that’s it. Restaurant week for the summer is over. If you haven’t read my reviews for the other two restaurants I went to, just search for the tag “NYC Restaurant Week”.
Happy eating and remember: don’t deny, satisfy!
The Raymart Crave 