For the ninth straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee, presented by the restaurants of Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, dining guides, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as voting for your "Best of Dining 2015."
Cafe India Bar & Grill
2201 S. Kinnickinnic St.
(414) 837-6121
Authentic Indian food covers a wide range of flavors from a mild curry to a red-hot pepper, curry and ginger concoctions. As a result, the menu at Cafe India Cafe & Bar has the breadth of offerings that can make deciding on a meal a real adventure. Fortunately, the waitstaff at the Bay View restaurant are never stumped, even when posed with the dumbest-sounding questions. The restaurant itself is a cozy dimly-lit spot, and achieves a miracle I’ve never seen before: with about a dozen tables, some fairly close together, they have somehow manipulated sound so that I couldn’t hear the conversation at any table, including one just a couple of feet away. It must be some kind of incense or something, but it was an amazing feeling. Like being in a cocoon.
Type of food: Indian
Prices: Entrees $8-15.
Vegetarian friendly? Yes. Plentiful veggie-only options like samosas and Stuffed Paranatha, filled with potato, onion and cauliflower.
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
Parking: Plentiful metered street and off-street.
Vibe/dress: Casual, come as you are vibe. Decor gentle and softly lit. Nothing distracts from the main task, eating. About a dozen tables, some two-tops and some four-tops. If you have a large group reservations are recommended , otherwise just walk in. Also has a delivery service.
Hits: The lamb vindaloo is a spectacular dish, brought to the Goa region of India by Portuguese about 300 years ago. The chunks of lamb are cooked on the bone to ensure full flavor and it’s mixed in a red curry sauce over the lamb and chunks of potato.
Misses: The only issue was that the mint sauce served with the samosas could have had a touch more mint.
Insider tip: When your dish comes, ask for an order of either plain or garlic naan. The quick-cooking bread will arrive in moments, still warm from the grill and you can use it to sop up every bit of the Cafe's deliciously flavorful sauces.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
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