[nubnu]

I love them in the city!
So I called and found out that they will be open for takeout on 5th ave and 3rd street by THIS Thursday!!!!

YEAH!!!

SO excited!

[ljnd]

I love them too. I have friends from Mumbai, fabulous cooks, who swear by them. I've taken friends from Rome and London there - they've loved it - and my 10 year old is nuts about it. (But she'll eat anything with chickpeas.) I'm so excited about this! And they have a website which permits you to place orders online, so when that's up and running, I am in deep trouble....

[Carnivore]

That place was in my heavy rotation when Mrs. C and I lived in Manhattan. I hope they deliver to Prospect Heights!
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[flux]

this is so exciting!

[peanutbuttercup]

OMGOD THAT IS AMAZING

[doublediamond]

Finally, good Indian in the hood!
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I believe in peace, bitch.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Is this going to be better than Kinara?

[Comfortably Smug]

Kinara was the standard until now. May the best naan win.

This is really awesome news. Thanks for the heads up nubnu, I would have had no idea.

[LongTimeSloper]

I am very excited to have all these new places right down the block from me. Especially now to hear that this new Indian place is so good, love Indian food!

[nubnu]

You are welcome Smug! I am just a huge fan!

[filmlover44]

[Mystery Daddy]

omg!!
There is NO good indian by me.
Do you think they will deliver all the way to 21st street and 5th? Its not that far really.
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manhattan is the new westchester

[nubnu]

I DONT SEE WHY NOT
THAT IS JUST STRAIGHT UP THE ROAD

IF I WAS THEM IN THIS ECONOMY
I WOULD DELIVER ANYWHERE
AND JUST PAY A DRIVER ALL DAY TO DO JUST THAT WITH A CAR!

[dixiecupdrinking]

Kinara very well might deliver to you, MD -- it's only ten blocks.

I'll give Baluchi's a shot but I gotta say I'm predisposed to prefer the oft-surly, questionably-sanitary but local Kinara over this place with locations all over the city.

[nubnu]

why is that dixiecup?

[Comfortably Smug]

So is this place open for delivery tonight or what? Anyone have a phone number for them? (Tried google and their website)

[nubnu]

THEY SAID THURSDAY WHEN I CALLED THE CORPORATE OFFICES!
MAYBE THEY ARE NOT READY YET?
I HOPE THEY DID NOT LIE!

[Comfortably Smug]

This is their number 718-832-7555


They are not open tonight


Dialing Red Hot II

[nubnu]

why not? what did they say?

[Mamacita]

I stopped by and they were not ready. I grabbed a paper menu and asked when they'd be open and the workers said maybe tomorrow, but it was a VERY BIG MAYBE. Don't hold your breath guys.
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[nubnu]

ohhhhh nooooooo

[kosherdave]

The number is not in service yet, so I bet they're still not open.

[Peanuts]

I called them earlier today to ask if they accept credit cards (they do) and they answered the phone
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Peanuts

[filmlover44]

They are open. We just ordered.
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Ok, now I'm crazy. Another goal achieved.

[Mamacita]

FilmLover, let us know what you thought!! Full details please!
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[Peanuts]

they're open for delivery and take out...really good!
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Peanuts

[raw]

Although I prefer Indian restaurants on Manhattan's Curry Hill (26th Street to the low 30s), I have absolutely no problem with this chain that sounds Italian (and thank god it's not). I've been to a few Baluchi locations in Manhattan and they were all fine. I HATE Amin (mean waiters and bland food) and am rolling out the welcome mat for Baluchis. I do not work for www.baluchis.com, but check it out and know that Baluchis' food is tastier than Amin's food.

www.baluchis.com

P.S. If Amin's waiters become nicer and the food spicier, I will give them a 4th chance because I am a moronic sucker for Indian food.
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I blame such comments on beer.
© karlthedruid 2007

[filmlover44]

Ok, we ordered a Chicken Madras (not on the menu but they made it for me anyway) and a Lamb Vindaloo, vegetable samosas and something of which has a name I forget made from potatoes and chickpea flour (something wheat free for me).

This place is MUCH better than Kinara, which is decent on a good day and you are lucky if you catch them on one. The chicken had chili peppers in it and was freaking perfect. More importantly, if you eat meat, lamb curry is a good way to gauge the quality of an Indian restaurant. The lamb wasn't greasy, and only just enough slightly sweet but not made with ketchup.
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Ok, now I'm crazy. Another goal achieved.

[Mamacita]

Was the lamb supper tender and high quality? Both Kinara and Joy have served me chewy, sometimes grisley meat (eeewww).
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[filmlover44]

tender at least....it wasn't fatty and gross and disgusting...
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Ok, now I'm crazy. Another goal achieved.

[willregistersoon]

I'll have to try it. After frequenting some of the restaurants in Jackson Heights though, all Indian/Pakistani restaurants have been ruined for me. I have not tried any other places anywhere else that come close to what I've eaten there. Worlds apart.

[Slopehead]

Correction on the phone number!

It's (718) 832-5555

[MichaelJ]

Baluchis on Saturday night was fine. But worth the extra money over Kinara. All four of us thought not. Probably a better place to sit in that Kinara, I am guessing, but we got delivery. The Chana Saag was better than Kinara, less spicy. The Chicken Makhani was not as good, the Malai Kofta was not as good, the Veggie Jalfrazie was equal. Overall, less spicy than Kinara, which was good for 2 of the four palates. Dinner plus app was $15 each, and Kinara doe sit for $13 I think....

[camaysar]

As a youth, I grooved through the Indian subcontinent for 2 years, on the "Hippie Trail" in the late 60's. I cannot recall ever tasting cilantro in any Indian food there, unless it was used very sparingly, unlike the food here in the US, which shouts "CILANTRO!!" (Granted, I ate pretty cheaply back then. Maybe cilantro is a more "high-caste brahmin" ingredient than "hippie-harijan"). Cilantro now seems to be used by most Indian restaurants I've been to in the US. Is this an authentic Indian ingredient? I know the seeds are coriander, which is certainly authentic. But cilantro leaves???

[ljnd]

Yes, cilantro is authentic. My friends from Mumbai are up there, caste/class wise, and they cook with it all the time.

[LongTimeSloper]

I just finished ordering dinner from them. We are getting some samosas, chicken curry and lamb rogan josh. Hope it's as good as most people say.

[raw]

[quote="camaysar"]As a youth, I grooved through the Indian subcontinent for 2 years, on the "Hippie Trail" in the late 60's. I cannot recall ever tasting cilantro in any Indian food there, unless it was used very sparingly, unlike the food here in the US, which shouts "CILANTRO!!" (Granted, I ate pretty cheaply back then. /quote]

Perhaps you were grooving out too hard with other herbs to recognize cilantro?

Ground cilantro/coriander is used in many masalas and the leaves are often chopped up small and in recognizable leaf form.
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I blame such comments on beer.
© karlthedruid 2007

[lucky11]

Will they have the half-off lunch special?

[Zebra]

I don't mean to derail, but about this cilantro... is that what the Palo Santo people put in everything making my mouth taste funny for hours? I know some people hate it or have an allergy to it; that's not me, but I do think a little goes a long way - sometimes too far.

[LongTimeSloper]

Update to our dinner. Delivery was very fast, we got our food within 20 minutes (we are right up the block from them).

The food was fine, nothing special and IMO, not any better or worse than other Indian places around here. We will probably order from them again just for the fact that they are so close, not because we had the food and went "Wow! finally great Indian food!"

[Jamzer]

I usually refrain from reviewing a restaurant until it has had a few weeks to shake out the rust, but I had to post in response to Filmlover's comment that this place "is MUCH better than Kinara."

I had takeout on Saturday too. I live just a couple of blocks away and it came within 25 minutes. I ordered Samosas, Chicken Tikka Masala and Saag Panir. It came with rice and naan. The samosas were excellent. Good and spicy. The naan was pretty good, as good as any naan that comes via takeout, and the rice was fine too. I was disappointed with the chicken and spinach as both were under spiced and lacking any noticeable flavor.

Kinera is far from perfect. Every once in a while the regular chef seems to be out and nothing is working, but for the most part, the food is very good and the delivery is fast. On the whole, Baluchi's on 5th Avenue has a long way to go before I would say that that it is MUCH better than Kinera.

I will certainly give it another chance though. My guess is that Baluchi's will get better and it will become the Indian restaurant we eat at and Kinera will remain our takeout place.

[LongTimeSloper]

That was part of our problem too Jamzer, we both felt the food was under spiced and needed more flavor. But, then again, we are dealing with a chain restaurant which made me leery about ordering from them to begin with.

[Mamacita]

I had take out too and was underwhelmed. The lamb meat was really good, tender, no nasty fatty parts. But the saag, spinach, was bland.
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[Jamzer]

[filmlover44]