Indian Taj

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Press Reviews

Indian Taj - Jackson Heights

VillageVoice
What's the best Indian buffet in Jackson Heights? Of the four, Indian Taj offers the most sumptuous of the all-u-can-eat lunches, at the usual bargain price of $5.95, then outdoes itself by providing dinner at only a dollar more. Highlights include a stark-red vegetarian biryani, mattar paneer that actually contains large quantities of homemade cheese, the yogurt-sauced vegetable fritters of kadi pakora, and a powerfully flavored goat curry (most buffets offer chicken, but no meat). There's also a chat stand where fried noodles called papri can be festooned with various condiments, including homemade carrot chutney.

NewYorkMetro
The heated competition of Jackson Heights's bustling Indian enclave makes it a compulsory bargain-buffet destination. A couple doors down from the bigger, better-known Jackson Diner, this plucky David undercuts the ballyhooed Goliath by a buck, charging $6.95 (weekday lunch) for its all-you-can-eat feast of golden-battered vegetable pakora, mixed grill, savory goat curry, a surpassingly rich chicken mekhani (the house specialty), and a lineup of vegetables that have been cooked into fragrant, spicy submission. Remember: No doggie bags and no sharing.

AOL Cityguide
Head over to Indian Taj to take advantage of the mammoth 15-course buffet. This all-you-can-eat extravaganza separates the strong from the meek, and serves as a coming-of-age initiation for many a Queens native.

Indian Taj - Greenwich Village

Lycos Travel
A Taste of India, located on Bleeker Street in the heart of New York's Greenwich Village, offers traditional Indian cuisine at moderate prices. Their menu includes meat and vegetarian snacks and platters, as well as vegetarian, poultry, meat and fish entrees. Dinners are served in single portions, or for two to share. They also offer an assortment of Indian teas, desserts and drinks.

TimeOut, Eating and Drinking 2005
Nearly every inch of the front window is covered with yellow newspaper clippings extolling Indian Taj's virtues. The food is reliably good, and there's a 16-dish buffet offered daily from noon to 4pm. A meal here won't inspire you to dance naked down Bleeker street but it will give you a decent curry fuel-up.

Indian Taj - Lindenhurst

Newsday
Dining Nov. 2004
by Joan Reminick
At Taj, spicing up the canal-side setting
In summer, alfresco dining by the water has a powerful allure. Yet there seems to be an unwritten rule that at most waterside restaurants, the quality of the food runs in inverse proportion to the quality of the water view.

The good news about the new Indian Taj is that its fare would be as much of a draw were it located at the end of a dreary alley. The view, however - a sliver of a canal off Montauk Highway - is hardly the stuff of a Winslow Homer painting. Nonetheless, a little water is better than none.

On a tranquil evening, as the sun set, I was happy to be sipping a cold pinot grigio at a deck table while savoring an appetizer of kalmi kebab - spicy and supremely tender tandoori-grilled chicken strips. Another night, when the sky looked menacing, we dined indoors in an attractive space highlighted by polished rosewood and mellow brick accents. There, our party of four enjoyed a flavorsome vegetable snack platter - a potato samosa (turnover), gobi Manchurian (fried spiced cauliflower) and bhujia (onion and spinach fritters). Best, though, was a lively shrimp saute called jingha Tadkawala, the plump crustaceans tinged russet by the blend of spices.

You definitely will want to order bread with your main course. I liked the layered whole-wheat pudina paratha, stuffed with mint, and the simple tandoor roti. Tops, though, was the onion and black pepper kulcha, an indulgence I could make a meal of.

Highlighted at the bottom of the menu is a dish called "Indian Taj's special karahi," chicken grilled with Himalayan herbs, onions, tomatoes and peppers, served in a traditional frying pan called a kadai. I found it vibrant and delicious. Those who crave fire will enjoy the "chilly" chicken sauteed with onions, spices and lots of hot green chiles. I thought the samundari la jawab - shrimp and slices of fish in a ginger-garlic-tomato sauce - a dish with potential that might have been realized had its wattage been higher and its temperature hotter. The classic murg tikka masala - boneless chicken marinated in yogurt, barbecued in the tandoor oven and sauced with tomatoes, garlic and ginger - proved a savory choice. While I liked the flavor of the boti kebab masala, tandoor roasted lamb in a tomato-based sauce, the meat was overcooked and chewy. Overcooking also marred the lamb in an otherwise outstanding tandoori mixed grill, which also included bone-in chicken, boneless chicken tikka and seekh kebab, ground barbecued lamb. Vegetarians will find gratification in both the velvety palak paneer, spinach puree with house-made cheese cubes, and the chunky noorani subzi, a melange of assorted vegetables in a bright tomato sauce.

Finish with warm gulab jaman, fried cheese balls in honey syrup or badami kheer - watery yet appealing rice pudding with cardamom and almonds.

And next time someone asks if you know a good waterside restaurant, you'll have a ready answer.