MONTCLAIR: Bombay Bistro

8851 Central Ave
Montclair, CA 91763
909 445 1455

Price: Cheap
Rating: Good/Great
Directions: Get off at Central Ave on the 10
Reservations: Not needed
Must Get: Chicken Tikka Masala, Garlic Naan

Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines.  I love the flavors from curries to naan to dosas.  My junior and senior year of college, I ate Indian food almost everyday with my roommate Amy.  How could we not when we lived so close to Curry Row (a street in the east village lined with Indian restaurants, 6th street between 1st and 2nd ave) and they had deals like $8 for three courses?  Yummm.  So you can imagine how excited I was when my friend Naomi mentioned that she knew of a good Indian spot near us.  I haven’t had Indian food since I left New York which is now TWO months ago.

Bombay Bistro did not disappoint. We went for lunch, so we did their buffet which I believe was around $9 per person not including tax and tip. Everything was great, but I loved their chicken tikka masala and garlic naan. The tikka masala had a smokey flavor to it which I haven’t had at other places. And the garlic naan was not too doughy; you’d be surprised by how many times I’ve had bad naan. Their basmati rice and daal were on the ehh side though.

Overall, it’s not the best Indian restaurant I’ve been to, but I think for the price and the food, it’s an amazing deal. I would definitely come back. Although next time, I need to restrain myself. I ate two full plates here and I wasn’t even that hungry!

NEW YORK: Sigiri

91 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10003
Hours: 12:30PM-11PM Mon-Sat/ 12:30PM-3:30PM 5:30PM-11PM Sun
212 614 9333

PRICE: Cheap for Manhattan (approx $9-13/dish)
RATING: Love it.
DIRECTIONS: 6 to Astor, RW to 8th Street.  Then walk.
RESERVATIONS: You don’t need them, but this place is tiny.  Not good for big groups.
MUST GET: appas with eggs, watalappam

Sigiri is Manhattan’s only Sri Lankan restaurant. The curries you find here are different from your standard Indian flair of tikka masala, vindaloo, etc. But definitely worth a shot if you have never tried Sri Lankan cuisine. I’ve been to this restaurant four times now; I’ve never been disappointed and neither has Joe, my Sri Lankan, born and raised in Australia boyfriend. He says it tastes just likes his mom’s cooking.

My favorite dishes here have been their beef cutlets, dhal, appas (especially with the egg), deviled chicken, and watalappam (a hardened desert similar to flan). For first timers, I highly recommend you come on Sunday for their all you can eat brunch at just $15/person. It’s well worth it to try a variety of what the cuisine has to offer. This morning they had: pol sambol, dhal, beef curry, fish curry, deviled chicken, khokal (a green bean dish), curried carrots, red rice, pappadoms, salad, and watalappam.

Early warning though, this place is small so don’t bring ten friends. It’s a perfect place for a group of up to 4 people; beyond that, prepare to wait. The perk is it’s byob and there’s an Indian deli downstairs with a great selection of beers.