India's Grill...hidden for 20 years (at least to me)

428 S. San Vicente
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310)659-3903
Mon-Fri 11AM-11PM
Sat-Sun 12PM-11PM

What a strenuous week this has been! My apologies for taking so long with this post but it was my 5 year anniversary on Friday and we just took off to the Santa Ynez for wine tasting and the whole "Sideways" experience. It was beautiful and we tasted a whole slew of wines. We got to collect a wonderful bunch of memories that a 5 year anniversary should be filled with. Once we got back we popped into a place by the name of India's Grill that my friend Hector recommended to us. He was taken there by a friend of his who absolutely loves Indian food and passed it on to us.

Located in an area that, unless you're waiting at a light, you would never see. It resides in the strip mall on the Northeast corner La Cienega/San Vicente "Bermuda Triangle" of traffic. It's a cool little spot with a... better than "community Indian" and just a little less than fine dining... comfort to it. Booths and tables and a smallish patio area make up the quaint location that surprisingly has been there for 20 years. I was so impressed when I found that out and instantly thought of Caffe Carrera, because they too have lasted an impressively long time on the Restaurant Row area of Los Angeles. Another great fact... India's Grill is under the same ownership as another great Indian food spot, Electric Lotus.

We popped in and got a booth seat by the window for privacy as well as good lighting for the pics. After perusing the menu we decided on doing things a little differently and had a good portion of vegetarian food included in our order (usually I'm a carnivore when it comes to Indian). We got the Mixed Tandoori Dinner as well as the Paneer Vindaloo Dinner. Both the dinners included sides of garbanzo and eggplant, a mound of naan, and your choice of Raita or salad (we decided on the raita cause Celeste liked the one over at Electric Lotus).

The naan was fluffy and had some serious substance to it. It was a real winner for us since we always feel like many other places are stingier with their naan. I mean come on...it's just bread.

The raita was great for both of our plates. It was just a little bit thinner than we're used to but it had plenty of onions and cucumber.

Both our plates, and I'm not exaggerating, were piled 2 and half to 3 inches high. Surely one dinner was good enough for two people, but we wanted to show you a what this place is all about. Shown above is the Paneer Vindaloo. This mound of goodness boasted their home made sauce as well as home made cheese. It was a balanced plate with flavors of the Paneer's savory sauce framing chunks of tomato and blending beautifully with the garbanzo beans and egg plant (which had touches of sweetness) changing the texture with each bite. Once again, let me reiterate, this was a ton of food and at $15 it's a really good deal.

Our second plate was the mixed Tandoori dinner. Piled high were the pieces of chicken tikka, lamb, tandoori chicken and jumbo shrimp. We doused the meat and shrimp with the lemon wedges provided and chowed...and chowed...and chowed. We had leftovers for the next day equivalent to a large lunch. Both types of chicken were the stars of this plate with the red char on the outside sealing in the juices beautifully. Overall this was a steal at $20 just for the fact that it was so tasty and abundant.

The wait staff were totally sweet, and though in a small strip mall, you completely forget that you're there once inside. I was floored when I found out they'd been doing business there for 20 years. But, seeing how good everything was and what solid service they provided, I quickly understood. And if that wasn't enough, to add to all this, they offer take-out, delivery and catering. Their lunch menu is a bargain with combination plates going from $6 to $9. Next time you find yourself waiting at the infamous La Cienega/San Vicente light you should hop on in and be sure to bring an appetite.

PS. You can only enter by being on San Vicente heading north. How's that for hidden?

Free Drink Refills: Nope (darn you cans of soda)
Entree Price Range: lunch plates are $6 to $9 and dinner ala carte plates range from $9 to $16 most of those being on the lower end of the spectrum. Dinner plates range $15 and up.

Xotik Kitchen...a picnic in the park...or at The Bowl

6121 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310)280-3961
Mon-Sat 11AM-8PM

Today's entry is interesting in the way that I'm going to call it like it is, and maybe not how they want to be known as. Xotik Kitchen, located in the Arts District of Culver City, is a smallish shop that is as casual as you can make it. A couple of chairs and tables out front and a very small counter inside comprise the entire eating area. They describe their food as a natural organic fusion. I could agree with them on that, and heck I could even agree that it's pretty healthy and generally affordable. My view of this place is different on one thing really. The food and layout is more designed for takeout and imparticularly if you're feeling like having a bite out of the house but not in a restaurant like say a picnic. It makes sense that they do a good bit of catering.

We wandered over to Xotic one day on our way home from work, in the mood to hunt around a bit and spotted this place right after we passed the Helm's Bakery area. We hopped in and ordered one Sumatran Coconut Chicken with potatoes and rice(you have a choice of many different sides to choose from) and their Grilled Vegetable Salad. We sat down inside and waited for maybe 10 minutes, then the lady who took our order brought our food. As soon as the food arrived we noticed a dog outside who must have sensed the food in the air. He watched us eat the entire time. I so wanted to swing by and throw him one of my leftover bones.

As you'll notice, the food comes out in aluminum bowls. I grew up eating food like this from Puerto Rican places when I was a kid, so I wasn't too suprised. I must admit though, it was funny seeing it come out like that, especially cause they had little prepackaged plasticware as well. This is one of the main reasons also why I feel they're much better for take out and not so much a dine in spot, granted we came close to their close time so that may have been the reason. The chicken was surpisingly super moist and the slightly tangy coconut sauce that was drizzled on it gave it some zip. The potatoes and rice were not insanely over the top good, but I had no complaints about them. What's nice about this dish is the amount of chicken they give is a half free range chicken. Enough to satisfy even the heartiest of appetites.

Next up is a plate for rabbits with a discerning palate. I enjoyed my few bites, but Celeste loved this thing. Besides a whole mess of grilled vegetables of the season like different kinds of squash etc, feta cheese, maple crusted pecans with pesto were served over a bed of field greens with a citrus dijon dressing. YUM said my little rabbit.

They have other salads, fish plates, some ribs and even a skirt steak to choose from. While their offering is humble, it's all solidly good. The season and weather is very right for a picnic and the Hollywood Bowl is starting to have their picnic type nights and a meal from here would be perfect. Just one thing... make sure you bring extra napkins cause the food is fingerlicking good.



Free Drink Refills: No
Entree Price Range: $7 to $13