By Julie Lawrence Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Oct 21, 2007 at 5:17 AM Photography: Zach Karpinski

The votes are in and the winners have been selected for OnMilwaukee's Best: Eat & Drink, 2007. The results of this readers' poll, including an editors' pick, are available in this series of articles that run all October long during Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com.

The spicy aroma constantly emitted by Maharaja Restaurant on Farwell Avenue is tempting enough to get any Indian food lover to pull over for a meal. Perhaps that's what contributed to its current status as OnMilwaukee.com readers' favorite Indian restaurant.

Of course, it could also be the actual food.

Dinners at Maharaja feature an extensive East Indian menu crowded with curries, meats and breads baked in a traditional tandoori oven.

The $8.95 daily lunch buffet offers a large selection of Indian soups, vegetarian favorites like palak paneer (spinach cooked with homemade cheese), chicken and beef curries and, if you save room, you can always count on an endless supply of gulab jamun -- those little fried dough balls dipped in sweet syrup.

OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Bombay Sweets

Runners-up:
2. Taste of India
3. Saffron Indian Bistro
4. Tandoor House
5. Bombay Sweets
6. Royal India
7. Bombay Louie's
8. Ujala Tandoori
9. Delhi Café
10. Taj Mahal

Julie Lawrence Special to OnMilwaukee.com

OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.

As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”