REVIEW: India- **** / $$

I have withheld a review of India for some time. I was afraid that since India was my first experience with Indian food oh-so-many years ago that I would think them better than they actually were. Well, after all this time, and a number of other Indian experiences, India remains the best Indian food in Rhode Island.

India has two locations, one in Providence down the street from competing Rasoi, and one in Warren. They are both gorgeously appointed. They are some of the most nicely designed restaurants in Rhode Island. Much better than many high-end places, like the decorative abortion at L'Epicureo. Small lights twinkle. Candles glow. Golds, browns, and dark woods hide in shadow as warm light illuminates the room. There are countless details that are modern yet very Indian, including the paintings, pictures, and furniture. Both India's are very relaxing, romantic environs that make perfect battlegrounds for a raid on someone else's innocence. Wink wink, nudge nudge, knowwhatImean knowwhatImean?

India really seemed to be on its way to complete dominance of the local Indian scene with the opening of a third location in East Greenwich some years ago. The East Greenwich location closed recently, only to have its place taken by a second location for the well-known Siena, but I digress. I can't describe how sad I was to see it go. The only other Indian restaurant near me, The Indian Club, also closed its doors around the same time, to be replaced by the new Black & Blue. So the closing of both places seems to indicate no interest in Indian food in the area, instead of bad business decisions on the parts of the owners. There seems to be no limit to the steakhouse market, though, with the local, beef-swilling gourmands willing to eat as much steak as can be shipped in. I'm now left with no Indian food to excite my palate! I don't have time to make my own damned curry. All the good places are in Providence and the surrounding areas, a solid 30-minute-plus drive for me. I could go to the Indian Grille, in Newport, but who the hell wants to do that? Newport's full of meth addicts, yuppies, and brain-eating zombies.

Again, I digress. Service is good. The wait staff is usually friendly and food comes out quickly. You get some special attention if it's a slow night and the owners are around. There can be a wait on Friday and Saturday, but it's usually pretty short. Both locations are large and the staff is skilled at moving people in and out, thus freeing up tables for hungry patrons.

On weekend nights they frequently have events to draw people in. These run the gamut from live music, belly dancers, to Indian movies projected on a large screen in the center of the dining area. It could be worse. It could be chop-socky melodramas from China. It's things like this that make the restaurants really sparkle. Events, food, lighting, and drinks. They do a very good job of making India a weekend destination. It's not quite up to the level of having the band Cornershop do a concert, but it's enough where you may think twice about going elsewhere.

The menu has grown as the years have gone by and is now competitive with the large menus at the other Indian restaurants in the area. Among those additions are new desserts, thankfully, because Gulab Jamun just scares me. Most of the offerings are not terribly original nor terribly traditional. They're somewhat standard American-Indian (not the casino-owning kind) fare. You have your curries, your breads, and your biryani. But no longer is the curry list the center of the menu. The list of house specialties is where most of the growth has taken place. Having not assimilated disparate ingredients, you get what you expect, but it's perfectly executed. Nothing is amazingly inventive, but India doesn't go the traditional route, either. Instead, they massage their recipes to be lighter, more healthy, and a bit more Mediterranean-hybrid than true Indian. It all works very well. They're also a lot spicier than other restaurants, and you can get it spicier still upon request.

They have my favorite curry around. Vindaloo, mango, and masala are all wonderfully spiced. The vindaloo is a real favorite, being not so hot as to overwhelm the flavor, but hot enough to get your tongue burning. Very, very well-balanced. The biryani is also the best I've had. The quality of their ingredients and the skillful balance of the flavors in the meal really set their biryani apart from the competition.

India is apparently very careful in their choices of ingredients. They advertise using locally grown vegetables and cheeses and tout their health-conscious attitudes. Whether it's locally grown or not doesn't matter much to me, much less whether it's good for me or not. It's thought out well, and the quality is apparent. The recipes are also generally light, which is nice. Much of the lightness to the curry and biryani can be credited to the excellent basmati rice. Very fluffy, flavorful, and well-paired with the meats they select.

I said in my Rasoi interview that I had never encountered tough meats or gristle. That had been true until recently. I had had two experiences where I had gristle in my chicken that forced me to stop chewing and extricate it from my maw. It sounds like I'm nit-picking, sure, but there's a big difference between flawless and not flawless. Still, I can find very little about which to complain. The serving sizes are large, but the recipes leave you satisfied without being bloated. This may be their vegetarian ambitions coming out in the food.

I've waited to talk about the naan because of the naan war between India and the nearby Rasoi. As I mentioned in my Rasoi review, they have the best naan around. It's a really amazing recipe with a selection of scrumptious toppings and stuffings. India keeps its naan a bit simpler, presenting it more as bread than as a substantial aspect of the meal. India's naan is chewier, while Rasoi is lighter. India also charges less for their naan, which I guess is appropriate. India doesn't fall completely to the naan juggernaut of Rasoi, though, having my favorite naan. Their vindaloo naan is excellent, and Rasoi doesn't have any spicy breads with which to respond. So, there is space for both India and Rasoi in the local naan market.

Their drink list is as inventive and colorful as you would expect. Combined with a good selection of beers and affordable wines, India has the whistle-wetting aspect pretty well-covered, but they could do more with the bar. Their mixed drinks selection is limited and the variety of liquors and liqueurs is pretty lean. Perhaps hire on a dedicated bar tender. I think this would be a good idea from a business standpoint. Bars draw in the locals in a way that no restaurant can. Expand the bar, expand the offerings, and generate more money all around.

So, again, after all this time India is still where I go for my Indian food. After some really great experiences at places like Rasoi, Kabob & Curry, and Indian Grille, India just sticks in my mind as the place I always desire. It may be more American/hybrid than true Indian, but who cares when it tastes this good. The service, atmosphere, and food really coalesce into something special. India is a personal favorite, a bargain of Rhode Island dining, and a place that you should certainly go out of your way to try.

India: ****
Price range for two: $25-$50

http://www.indiarestaurant.com (The website is tragically out-of-date. The menu is much larger now)


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India
1060 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906


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India
520 Main Street
Warren, RI. 02885

Hours
Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 9:00pm
Friday & Saturday 11:30am to 10:00pm

REVIEW: Feast or Famine- **** / $$

Feast or Famine has three locations, including a location on Mineral Spring Ave. in North Providence that specializes in take-out. I drove past the take-out location on one starving night, looking for something, ANYTHING, that wasn't fast food. I found Feast or Famine and was utterly dismayed to learn that a frozen pipe explosion early in the winter had rendered the location closed.

Luckily, they had a sign telling me about their location on Park Ave. in Cranston. I went. I ate. I loved. Feast or Famine is a gem to which I go once a month. None of the places have really stunning architecture, but they're attractive and comfy enough. The Warren location is easily the prettiest and a very nice place to have a meal. The Cranston location is right next to a Carvel where you can get some dessert (more on that later), and the North Providence location has a few tables, and during the day the busy corner on Mineral Spring provides a good view during lunch.

Service has always been friendly and quick. There's no sense of rigid professionalism, which is usually nice, since it frees the wait staff to be chatty and conversational. I like this. I had a waiter spill a tray of sodas on me. I found it funny and the event has befriended me the entire Cranston location.

Sometimes on slow days they give you crappy dinner bread, but that's one of only three complaints. Actually, not only is the dinner bread bad, they insist on giving you a small bowl of olive oil, as is trendy these days, and NO BUTTER. Carrabbas is able to pull off the olive-oil-thing, but that's because they pile in a blob of spices. Here, all they give you is olive oil and red pepper seeds. GIVE ME BUTTER!

So they did. :-D

Appetizers are headlined by chef/owner David Sepulveda's take on garlic bread. It eases you into his approach of wood-firing just about everything. It's thin, crispy, with a light topping of cheeses and garlic. It comes with three sauces. It is utterly fantastic. I mean, drop what you're doing and go get some.

The rest of the menu is backed by a strong selection of pastas and sandwiches. His sauces are all very strong, save for the pink vodka sauce. It's not very pink and it's not very vodka. The wood-fired pizzas are the star, though, and they are truly wonderful. While Al Forno's margarita pizza may be a bit tastier, their sauce is oh-so-delicate, it's twice the price. And Al Forno can't even touch the deliciously wide selection available here. Also, the North Providence location is so small that they grille the pizzas at the Warren and Cranston locations and drive them over, thus making them less-crispy as the fresh ones at the other locations.

A restaurant that feeds you as well as here for such little money is rare indeed. Sepulveda is still young, and as his skills grow, I can only imagine the food that Feast or Famine is going to produce. As with the dinner bread, not all is perfect. Most importantly, the desserts aren't made in-house and are totally underwhelming after the scrumptious foods they follow. If Feast or Famine nailed down quality issues with a few of the touches and sauces, and at the very least outsourced some interesting desserts, I could only call it one of the best places I've ever eaten.

UPDATE: 11/1/2007
After a number of experiences with the North Providence location, I feel the need to knock off a star for that SINGLE location. While Warren and Cranston still more than deserve the full four stars, North Providence's quality drops precipitously, obviously in the crispness of the bread, but also in the preparation. I've returned home with pizzas literally swimming in olive oil. Sometimes I wonder if the person preparing the pizza kept having micro-seizures as he/she tried to put on toppings. Don't even get me started on the pasta. The lack of skill in the kitchen and, if you don't get them home quickly, the sometimes gummy crusts, eats a full star. It's still the best pizza on Mineral Spring, but nothing special.

UPDATE: 11/10/2008
The North Providence location has been closed and the Cranston location, as of last visit, never appears to be open. I'm not sure what's going on, but it appears that the Warren location is the only one still afloat.

UPDATE: 3/10/2009
It's official. I don't know how long it's been, but all Feast or Famine locations are closed. Kicked the bucket. Out of business. It's really sad because their garlic bread was so bloody good.

Feast or Famine (Cranston & Warren): ****
Feast or Famine (North Providence): ***
Price range for two: $20-$40

Feast or Famine
1099 Park Ave
Cranston, RI 02910
401-383-7171 (No reservations)
Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 9:30pm.
Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 10:30pm.

Feast or Famine
2220 Mineral Spring Ave.
North Providence
401-349-0452 (No reservations)
Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 9:30pm.
Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 10:30pm.

Feast Or Famine
495 Main Street
Warren, RI 02885
401-289-0422 (No reservations)
Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 9:30pm.
Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 10:30pm.