The last time I did a review of the Taste of the Himalayas was June 13, 2011. At that time they were new and strived to make the experience a memorable one. I have been back several times and have never been disappointed.
I am pleased to say not much has changed in those eight years. Eight years ago, it was named Punjab, and Sanjog Chaudhary was the manager. I was so pleased to see he is still there and he remembered me.
My friend Mary and I have been trying to get together for a meal. She happened to come over to pick something up and asked if I would join her for dinner. And so… Indian food it would be.
The restaurant specializes in food from India, Nepal and Tibet, along with other Indian cultures. The new menu has been expanded greatly from what they had originally, but all entrees are still served with the most delicious lentil soup. (You can also order it separately if you wanted more, or just soup.) Let me tell you about our order:
Mary said that Samosa’s are one of her favorite items in an Indian restaurant, so we ordered two from the appetizer menu. She ordered Mismas Tarkari, which is seasonal mixed vegetable cooked in onion and tomato sauce with Himalayan spices. She ordered a side of Raita, homemade yogurt with cucumber, carrot, mint and spices. Both the Mismas Tarkari and Raita were delicious. She ordered them “mild” and there was just a hint of spice to it. She said that she would order it again when we go back.
I decided to be a little different, and rather than order an entrée I ordered several items from the appetizer menu. I started out by ordering vegetable Pakora. This was onion, spinach, and cabbage cooked with Himalayan spices and herbs. It was served with mint chutney. I also ordered Badami Naan – the typical Naan bread but infused with cherries. Yummy!
I wanted to try a specialty salad so I ordered a Sadae Ko aloo Ra Kakra, which was made with cucumber, potatoes and green peas marinated Himalayan style. It was very different and very good. I do not think I would have it again because I would want to try some of the other salads the next time.  But it was very tasty.
I ended my order with Vegetable Mono, which consisted of eight steamed dumplings filled with minced cabbage, spinach, mushrooms, cashews, panner, (which is a cheese) onion, cilantro, cilantro, green onions and spices. It was served with Himalayan sauce on the side. This was, perhaps, the spiciest of all of the things that I ordered, and I doubt if I could have ordered it any less spicy than it was. They were still very good, flaky, and stuffed full. I also want to thank our server who told me two separate ways of reheating them when I took the leftovers home. Speaking about the server – I have to give a shout out to the entire wait staff. Our glasses of water were constantly being refilled; we were asked numerous times if things were ok; if we needed anything; and Sanjog came and talked to us several times. The restaurant was busy and I noticed that both he and our server spent time talking to each of the patrons. We truly felt that they cared about us and wanted to make sure that our time there was a happy one. And… there were many take-out orders processed in the time that we were there also.
I also want to say something about their lunch menu. Monday through Friday they have nine lunch specials for the price of $8.99. Of those entrees, you can pick any two. They are served with rice, lentil soup and a half order of naan. It is truly a special and varies from vegetarian to chicken to lamb to salmon.
I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough. If you like Indian food; if you have never had Indian food; if you want to try a new restaurant I don’t think you will be disappointed. Their motto is “Atithee Dewa Bhawa – Guests are treated like our God!” and that is very evident in the service. You don’t even have to tell them that “Judi sent me!”