You Gotta Eat: Spice of life

Tamana serves up Indian cuisine with casual flair

By Dave Surratt

Ah yes, just the place needed to cancel out a truly terrible Indian food experience had by this reviewer a while back. Formerly called Rasraj, Tamana subtitles itself "An Indian Bistro," and it's just that--small and informal. On an early Tuesday evening we had the place to ourselves, at least initially, as a couple of Indian families settled in over the next hour. Modest tables and a practical, white-brick interior create the informal atmosphere, along with a partial view into the kitchen. We found the hostess to be informal too, in the sense that she was relaxed, cheerful and extremely helpful in describing any menu items that had us scratching our heads.

First on that list, and on our table, was something from the Chat Corner section--Dahi Puri ($4)--a delicious six-piece appetizer consisting of black garbanzo beans, onion and yogurt all cupped in something like a light potato chip scoop and served on a thin red layer of sweet berry sauce. The spicy Spinach Paneer ($8) was spot-on as well, with its rich Indian cottage cheese chunks in cooked spinach that retained a better-than-usual earthy freshness. Our cream quotients peaked out with the Chicken Korma ($9), tender and bathed in a yellow curry sauce with raisins and cashews. Good, hearty stuff.

But what is it that makes the Indian dining experience real in the end--aside from that essential side order of Naan bread (try the $4 cauliflower-stuffed Gobi Paratha) and the cold glass of yogurt-based sweet lassi ($3)? (By the way, is there a soul on Earth who actually prefers the salty option? Is it something ordered only on bets?) Anyway, Indian music ties it all together. Our meal was set to an unobtrusive, beautifying sitar soundtrack that surely must have aided in the digestion of such a traditionally adventurous cuisine. After resigning oneself to willfully ignoring most restaurant music, it's nice to welcome it back once in a while.

Service at Tamana was quick and friendly. The only tribulation we faced came in the form of the menu itself--a blotchy photocopy, nearly illegible in several places. But even that has its small, informal appeal, no? The bistro also displays an impressively varied dessert case, full of those honey-soaked nuggets of everything succulent. It was a tempting sight as we walked out, but alas--too full this time around. We'll be back.