Baluchi's: An Indian Tale

Our tasting resumed after a short break for the holidays and we were ready to go. For the past two months the television has been set to all shows featuring Chef Gordon Ramsey. Needless to say we watched a lot of shows based in the U.K about Indian cuisine. Feeling inspired to find a place that served spicy, flavorful dishes that represented this vastly cultural country, we made our way to Baluchi's. Located at 113-30 Queens Blvd., this Indian spot was hard to miss.

We walked in with a big appetite and great expectations. A warm and friendly hostess wearing a lovely white salwar greeted us and showed us to a cozy section of the restaurant. The ambiance was quite nice, with mustard colored walls, candles on every table and a jeweled chandelier hanging in the center of the room. We were greeted by one of our many waiters for the night and we ordered our drinks (a mango and yogurt drink called lassi and iced tea) and dared the feast to begin. Our appetizer of choice was an order of Tikiyas, two potato cakes fried to a golden crisp and served with a green herb sauce and another tamarind syrup.

The starters were mild in flavor, with only a hint of geera. They were crisp and hot and did the intended job. We sat there with empty plates for about 10 minutes before someone came to take the orders for our entrees. Classic Lamb Rogan Josh (lamb cooked in an aromatic tomato sauce) was a must and was followed by Chicken Saagwalla (chicken pieces in a spinach sauce).

Another waiter came rather quickly and presented us with the piping hot dishes. The offering was rounded out by a small bowl of jasmine rice and a tiny basket of naan bread. Our first impression was that the feast we were expecting looked more like a kiddie meal. Since we both love starchy foods we reached for the bread but were disappointed to find it overly charred and crispy.

The Lamb Rogan Josh was next and had a better reception. The tomato based flavored sauce was a perfect home for the lamb chunks and we were pleased. Chicken Saagwalla time! This dish was interesting to say the least. Spinach was the first taste on our tongue and that pleased us as we are avid spinach lovers. Sadly it went downhill from there. The next mouthful included the extremely unpleasant crunch of three lemon seeds. YUCK! It also featured large strips of ginger that made for an interesting contrast of textures. Determined not to let that stop us we put the chicken aside and finished the lamb.

It could have been said that we were no longer in the mood to be adventurous so we chose the most basic dessert possible, home made ice cream. Well apparently this wasn't so basic after all. We were served approximately two ounces of frozen solid mango ice-something. After letting it sit for a few minutes hoping it would melt we attacked it with our dinner knife, cutting the sphere into four triangles. The flavor was decent but it was extremely difficult to avoid the brain freeze as it was more like sucking on milk and mango flavored ice cubes. The memory of this is grievous unto us. The meal ended with the bill which caused some added confusion to a night that was already filled with so many other disappointments. There was an extra charge for the one tiny bowl of jasmine rice and also for the burned naan bread. What did they intend to serve the bowl of Lamb and chicken stew with? That was NOT a balanced meal plan by the chef.

So for a night that began with such great expectations but ended in extreme disappointment from the kitchen staff, the many different waiters (we weren't sure which one we were suppose to tip) and the frozen ice cream we give Baluchi's a generous D. We left hungry and made a stop at Wendy's. The end.