| Dirt-Cheap Vegetarian Indian cuisine. Fresh and Tasty. |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 6/20/2007
Rating: 9
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We do quite a bit of driving near El Camino and Lawrence Expressway and there's this onramp where you can catch a glimpse of this hidden restaurant. The parking lot is filled with swirling paper trash and a couple of semi-trucks with graffiti. It's a total dive and every time we pass by, I keep telling Terry we should visit it. To this day I don't know why he never wanted to visit. It's not the first time I've dragged him to a shady looking restaurant.
I had to get a number of things done at work before lunch. Before I knew it, it was nearly 45 minutes passed our usual lunch time. I knew he was super hungry and by the time we actually left work, I could suggest any restaurant and he would be more than willing to go. As fate would have it, we'd be making the visit to Sanraj India Cuisine. No one has ever recommended it to us nor have we heard any info of it.
We pull up to the restaurant which is basically connected to the Indian grocery + video + clothing + whatever store. The restaurant is located on the left side and there isn't any signs for a buffet. There is a brilliant menu hanging from the ceiling. It's one of the dopest menus known to mankind. I should have taken a picture but imagine a poster board attached to a frickin plastic hanger which was connected to the ceiling tile. Pure Art.
There's no one manning the register and we start to wander around the empty restaurant. We approach this lady who's hand rolling some bakery goods. She asked us if we were here for the vegetarian buffet and we smiled. She pointed us to the steel plates and asked us if we wanted naan.
We grabbed these hubcap sized steel plates and loaded up (pictures 9, 10). There were about 8 items to choose from and I think I had 7 of them. Everything was very good with the big winner being the cabbage dish. It was kinda spicy and filled with delectable spices that will have you wondering what the heck you eating.
The naan (image 8) was fresh from the oven and too hot to handle. Edges were slightly burnt with a texture like a thin crust pizza. I enjoyed it a lot and used it to mop up any curries.
I might have managed 1 1/2 trips to the buffet. There were no prices listed for the buffet and when Terry went to the register to pay the bill, he handed her a $10 bill. I was completely blown away. 2 drinks, 2 buffets for $10. Simply amazing, $3.99 for an all you can eat buffet. We've eaten at a lot of places and this is definitely one of the best values ever eaten on jatbar.
The food rates a solid 8 but the value is a 10. We're making a return visit soon because this deal is too hard to believe.
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RETURN VISIT for Jason! 6/26/2007 - 9 Rating: Made a return visit with Mark to investigate the buffet prices. Yes, it still holds true, $3.99 all you can eat. Naan is made to order with the cook yelling "Brreeeeaad is reaaady". When the rice was brought out, you can probably guess what he yelled, "Riiiicccee is reaaaaddy".
The place was a contrast to what Terry and I saw the other week. There were actual people eating inside this time. The food was just as good as last visit. One of the best bargains you can land in the bay area. Who knows how long these rock bottom prices will last?
I'm proud of the pictures I snapped today.
Picture 12 - view from the Lawrence Expressway onramp from El Camino Real.
Picture 13 - Poster board to plastic hanger. That's hot.
Pictures 14,15,16 - We ate something called barfee. I never knew what the name of these things were but I've had them before. They taste like chickpea cookies with various seasonings like cardamom and black cumin, a swirl of condensed milk, and laced with a fruit, chocolate, or nut. It's an interesting dessert that might take a little getting used to. They are made in the restaurant and definitely recommend giving it a test drive.
Holds strong at a 9 rating. |
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 6/20/2007
Rating: 9
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This place has been an object of desire for Jason for at least a couple months. Everytime we would drive by, I would give an irritated grimace, while Jason would get excited.
Jason had a bit of work to do so we had a late lunch today. I managed to eat a granola bar to tide me over so wasn't super hungry today. As we walked in, I was expecting the worst. This place is tacked on to the side of an Indian grocery story and both just look completely ate up. There is crap scattered everywhere inside this place. Boxes of Indian DVDs everywhere. Jason joked that Eric Roberts was in one of these boxes. We didn't find out, but I wouldn't take that bet either.
We walk into the food area, and we are not sure what to do. On the far wall are a few trays of food. I am so ready to walk out at this point, but stay my ground. The nice lady there instructs us about finding the plates for the all-you-can-eat buffet. There are only about 8 small trays of food, and she asks us if we wanted Naan. Of course we ask for some.
The steel plates are monstrous. No, they are MONSTROUS. I manage to fill the plate (at least equal to twice a normal indian buffet plate). I load up on Biryani rice, some cabbage item, a barbecued flavored item, etc. I had huge portions of 4 or 5 of the selections there.
Overall, the food wasn't ultra spicey nor would I admit that it was the best Indian food on earth. It was solid, with a few standouts. The cabbage was amazing, for example. Biryani was ok, nothing out of the ordinary. Naan was fresh - solid, but not mindblowing.
So this food was good. Filling, all veggie, probably worth an 8 to 8.5. I go up to the register to pay and the buffet comes to $3.99 each. OMG. $3.99. That is like Jatbar history. A good solid vegetarian buffet for under $4. How can you beat that? For this kind of value- something Jatbar holds in high regard- its hard to leave this at merely an 8.5. So up it goes to an 9.
The place isn't super clean, and looked a bit disorganized, but the food itself as well as the plates were clean and well sorted out. I had no compulsions against eating here once I saw the food area. I definitely can't wait to return here again.
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Reviewer: pyunnyhana
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 6/27/2007
Rating: 7.5
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Once I saw this review and heard it was a 3.99 buffet, I just couldn't resist. I had just finished my finals and I thought to myself, "might as well take an adventure."
The place is a couple of blocks from Tofu House, but in a very very desolate plaza with a Kohl's and Taco Bell. It's very well hidden from the street. You walk in and there's a grocery store, video store, even a hair salon. I saw the landmark (the dangling menu on a clothes hanger) and knew I've found the buffet.
I had the spinach stew, this bell pepper spicy mixture, the lentils, the garbanzo bean stew, basmati rice, yellow rice, naan and an order of samosa. The only disappointing dish was the yellow curry looking thing with faux meat that was spongy and quite unappetizing. The sauce was sour and.. just not good. However, all the other dishes were very solid, especially the bell pepper dish (delicious!) and samosa (samosas are 75 cents each). I also bought a lychee drink for 99 cent (also very good). The rice pudding was okay, but it didn't have any spice to it. It was like... milk and rice. I still thought it was tasty for what it's worth.
I give this place a high 7.5, just short of an 8. It's worth a return visit from me to try their sweets, and of course... 3.99 buffet. Can't beat that. |
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