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Media Spices abound at Tandoori Bites
Tandoori Bites sits tucked into a little strip of restaurants in Nicholson Plaza, north of where the light-rail line bends off North First onto Tasman in San Jose's Golden Triangle.
The Indian restaurant is pleasant with bright green walls and turmeric-colored accents on the white tablecloths. High-tech workers, still wearing their key cards, fill the tables at lunch.
Harminder Kang had a restaurant in Punjab. She worked at Jack in the Box after she came to the United States but always wanted her own place. She and her husband Gurmit opened Tandoori Bites in September.
There are two ways to make this a quick stop - go through the buffet line or call ahead for one of the takeout items.
The takeout menu features Tandoori Wraps. Take your pick of chicken, lamb, veggie or paneer (cheese) wrapped in perfectly made naan. Try the spicy lambseekh kabab ($4.95) and the veggie with its potato patty filling ($4.50). The others lacked kick.
The simplenaan were hot, fluffy and delightful and great if you are on a tight budget. Thenaan come plain ($1.50), topped with onion or garlic ($2.50) or stuffed with lamb, cheese or vegetables ($2.50 to $3). Thealoo (potato) andgobi (cauliflower) both were spicy and satisfying.
But the buffet ($8.99) is a better choice if you don't have to eat on the run. It's easy to stuff yourself from more than a dozen choices. Many diners found time to fill their plates a second time during both of my visits. And the restaurant workers constantly refilled the buffet line during the rush.
The buffet offerings vary daily with plenty of vegetarian choices and several lamb and chicken dishes. The vegetarian dishes were stellar during my lunch - Alu Jeera (perfectly done potatoes with plenty of spice), Hearty Paneer Saag (spicy creamed spinach with chunks of cheese) and Currieddal (lentils). Start with a few Crispypapadaam Wafers, add Salads and Rice, Somenaan and Raita - the Cooling Yogurt Mixture. Even the hungriest vegetarian will be full in no time.
My favorite meat dish was Chicken Kurma, Creamy and slightly Sweet. Also good were lambrogan josh with onions and plenty of spice in the sauce, and tandoori chicken, although the thighs and wings were a little bland for my taste. I was disappointed in the few pieces ofseekh kabab ; they'd gone cold on the warming table, and the lamb wasn't nearly as spicy as in the wrap I'd had earlier.
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Address |
Tandoori Bites, 3730 N. First St., San Jose (in Nicholson Plaza)
Ph: +1.408.324.1862 |
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Hours |
11:30 AM to 2:30 PM. and 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM, Monday to Saturday |
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Types of food |
Indian |
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Average meal price |
Under $10 |
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Good choices |
Lunch buffet, tandoori wraps and stuffed naan to go |
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Not recommended |
Tandoori chicken sandwich and paneer tandoori wrap were too bland |
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Attitude |
Very friendly |
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Amenities |
A few outdoor tables; flat-panel TV tuned to CNN or Indian movies |
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Drinks |
Soft drinks, lassi, coffee, tea, wine and imported and domestic beer |
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Eat in car |
Tandoori wraps and naan are built to travel |
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Who goes there |
Workers from the Golden Triangle |
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Credit cards |
Visa, Master Card |
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Parking |
Parking spills out of the plaza's lot and down along Nicholson Lane | |
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