Curry entices students to put five on it
Suzanne Yada
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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It lets me eat yummy Indian food cheaply at Tandoori Oven downtown - it's called a Tower Card.
Not sure what else it does, but who cares?
I just show proof that I'm a student to the nice people with the food, and they allow me to consume the food, a la carte or in wrap form, in exchange for five bucks.
Filling food, too.
My magic card also lets me buy any entree and get one for free.
It's crazy.
I have brought in friends, a co-worker, my former teacher and my mother who drove in from the Central Valley - assumingly for yummy food, but I suppose to visit me too.
Tandoori Oven rocks for taking people out like that.
The place works as either a dine-in or takeout eatery, depending on your mood.
I typically get the chicken tikka masala, not just because it's my default menu item for anything Indian, but also because I'm
a chicken.
It's the mildest curry on the menu, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't do spicy.
I also admit it's an unimaginative choice.
I grew up in a strange land where no Indian restaurants existed, so I still have a little trouble understanding the menu beyond my familiar dishes.
Luckily, there are people behind the counter willing to help.
I recently thought I'd get adventurous with a lamb korma curry.
The lamb was marinated perfectly, and the flavors of the sauce were unique and
delicious.
It was just a tad too spicy for my naive tastes.
Someone was nice enough to bring me a side of yogurt, or raita, to cool it down.
Later I decided to go back to my default chicken tikka masala, but this time I ordered it as a wrap.
It's much easier to take with me than ordering curry to go.
They take amazing baked naan, and make it even more amazing by putting chicken masala and potatoes and some mint mayo sauce in it.
Then they roll it up, and you fork over a fiver for the joy of consuming it.
My one complaint about that wrap is that there is no bottom to it. The insides just fall out.
I'm not asking for an Indian burrito, but couldn't there be some clever way to keep all the filling inside the wrap?
The other complaint has nothing to do with the wrap, but with one annoying thing that happens when you're dining in.
They serve you the food without silverware. You have to go and get it.
What is up with that, Tandoori Oven?
I love this place in about every other way.
The shop itself is clean and painted with bright, funky colors.
It's super close to campus, and it fills you up on affordable, good food that isn't a burger or a burrito.
Just show them the magic card from SJSU with your
photo on it, and they will take care of the rest.
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