Lahore Karahi Review

Amazingly, when we made our way through the tenderloin to Bodega Bistro, we entered, saw empty tables (and a number of full ones), and were then turned away. They said they were out of food supplies!  Instead we followed one of our participants to a restaurant nearby.

Lahore Karahi served pretty decent Indian/Pakistani food for an astoundingly low price and to a fairly slow speed. (It looks like the chef cooks everything from scratch when ordered and so it takes a while to arrive at the table.)

We shared three entrees: 

• Lamb Saag. Quite good. The sauce -a thick puree- was fresh and nicely done.
• Chicken korma. Pretty good. Quite unlike the creaminess traditional of Indian korma, this had a much less rich sauce with Pakistani flavors including hints of peppers. The chicken was perfectly cooked and split easily with a fork.
• Vegetable Biryani. Eh. Showing more of the Pakistani side than the Indian side of the recipe, it was a bit more like fried rice than baked rice. (Personally, I don't appreciate this.) And the spicing was mild (not surprising since we ordered it mild) but still didn't have a hint of the complex interplay of spices that are integral to a biryani. (Disclaimer: I'm a biryani snob: I tend to like it and tend to order it at every Indian restaurant I go to to help me judge the restaurant.)

We also had some rice (fine) and naan to go with the entrees. The plain naan we got was slightly overcooked and not fluffy enough, but, as judging by the garlic naan we got, they know how to do naan well -- the garlic naan was tasty and fluffy and quite well done.

It's effectively a hole-in-the-wall with a friendly staff. Many people there seemed to be recognized as regulars and greet the staff by name. And yet service actually leaves something to be desired; at times we had wave to get attention. But then what can you ask for when you get table service for counter service prices?

(In all, I'd say roughly comparable to Naan n' Curry -- some dishes are better and some are worse but they're both fairly decent but not uniformly outstanding.)

Total $8/person including tax and tip but without drinks. 

Original Announcement

Since Lahore Karahi was the result of a last minute change of venue, there was no original announcement.

Comments from Other Attendees

Years later this was profiled on Check Please.  The dishes recommended: fish tandoori (by the women who goes all the time), naan, curries (e.g., saag paneer), chicken tikki masala, rice dishes (e.g., lamb biryani, curry rice). -mark

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