Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Bombay Indian Grill

I'm sorry its taken so long to post a new comment. I was waiting on my old Indian roommate to give me permission to use him as my token for all the jokes I would be making. His smoke signal hasn't arrived so I'll start without his permission.

You're confused now right? You're thinking, "wait, I don't want buffalo and plains grass." Don't worry, Bombay Indian Grill is actually from the Indians of the other side of the world, not the casinos across the border. And my roommate is actually Indian, not Native American. But when I called to excitedly tell him I ate Indian food he said, "you ate a buffalo?" Funny guy huh?

The Bombay Indian Grill is behind Chik-Fil-A, which is behind Central Market which is behind Borders which is behind Mi Cocina. It's in a strip center next to Sushi Axiom and would not appear to be the center of all Indian cuisine in my life, at first glance. That's because you don't know me.

One day, as my wife and I sipped our grande half caf, no whipped, double milk, frapacapamistocinis at starbucks we noticed this gem of the orient and thought it would make a good lunch trip. Turns out, it would make a good any trip, but only go at lunch.

At lunch they have the buffet. They may have this at dinner as well, but you'll pay more and the parking for Sushi Axiom will make you walk over 100 feet which is insane. We're not French. So go get the lunch buffet and don't worry about walking all of those calories off. They'll fall off while you're reading this.

It was recommended, by an avid reader (I have it on good authority that it was Ed Bass or Mayor Moncrief although all evidence to support that has disappeared) that I get the Chicken Tikka Marsala. Which sounds like a chicken dish, cooked in marsala wine, over a tiki torch. That's not what it is. It's cooked in a tandoor, which is an Indian earthen stove. I don't know if they dug a hole in the back of the restaurant or built one up, but for novelty sake, lets say they dug one out.

I mention this dish because its the one I remember above everything else. It was delicious. The flavors were so unique to me that I felt like I had taken a trip with my old roommate back to the days of school, but instead of eating pizza and drinking beer, we were in India and I had leprosy.

But the buffet has more than just this dish. There is saffron rice, other dishes, and then dessert. The dessert included a sort of rice pudding that looked like cottage cheese but tasted better. Much better. They also had fried puff balls of delicious. They are soaking in a sugary looking syrup and appear as though they taste like your future root canal. The flavor is much more subtle than that and the sweetness isn't overpowering.

A few other dishes I can accurately describe include a yellow bell pepper, onion and jalapeno dish which had obviously been cooked but was served cold was delicious but spicier than a lot of other foods I have had in my life. There was also an okra dish, meatballs (not beef) and a red chicken. The red chicken included pieces of chicken, that were red. I didn't catch much flavor from them but the chicken was prepared nicely.

I believe the buffet cost about 9 bucks and included all the incentive you need to call your old Indian roommate. I would describe the flavors in more detail, but quite honestly, I didn't recognize so many of them. I would say that 60-75% of the buffet was delicious, which gets my recommendation.

Please let me know if you think I'm on target or completely insensitive. My roommate said this would be ok.

Bombay Indian Grill is located at4625 Donnelly, behind the Chik-fil-a, which is behind the Central Market.

Bombay Grill on Urbanspoon

20 comments:

nemajo said...

Thanks! Nice review.

FYI

http://www.tandoors.com/?gclid=COXGyN-Y5pgCFQazsgodBQVkcw

Jake Good said...

Love this spot! Great food... and you're right, only go during lunch :)

I love the fact that I live 3 blocks from there and Central Market.. I'm starting to gain some weight!

Anonymous said...

I joined friends there for Sunday brunch several months back. The food was good, but for some reason the indian lady that works there seemed to be giving me the bum's rush. My friends could not stop laughing each time she would come over and grab a half eaten plate from in front of me, with no warning. She is fast and sneaky. I would get up and grab another plate and as soon as I took a pause from eating to talk with my friends or to have a drink, the plate would vanish. It must have been me, she let them finish their food. Good food, and it was entertaining.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Namajo, thanks for the link. Will tandoors be the next thing for Williams Sonoma to start selling? This could be the hip new thing to buy.

Jake, that's a dangerous area to live. Now you've also got Buttons nearby. Before you know it, you'll be waddling to these places.

Thanks for reading.

bourgon said...

Good place, good food. What I love about Indian buffets is that there's pretty much _something_ you'll like. I dig one of the dishes, the deep fried veggies, and the dessert. Just don't try the seeds on your way out - I think you can still see where I explosively spit them on the sidewalk (getthemoutgetthemoutohgodthetastemakeitstopmakeitstop).
BTW, there's another good one off Cooper, south of 30.

Now, you need to find a Native American restaurant for us to try out.

Byzantine, TX said...

The staff is nice. Even if I haven't been there in a long while they seem to remember my family.

During lunch they have a tendency to put in too much salt, but the buffet selection is wide enough that you can just avoid the one or two over-salted dishes. If I lived closer I would certainly go there more often.

Broderick Chesterfield III said...

like this place a lot. went for dinner and enjoyed it.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Anonymous, its Indian custom to take your plate half way through eating. Its some Hindu thing. Trust me and don't try to verify that.

Thank to everybody for reading. I did forget to mention how nice the entire staff was. Friendly people who work hard.

I was really worried that the Native American contingency of readers would revolt and fill the comments sections with pictographs.

Michael has issued a serious challenge here. Help me find a Native American Indian restaurant in Fort Worth.

Anonymous said...

I love Bombay Grill - My personal favorites are:
1. Saag Paneer - Tender chunks of homemade cheese in creamed spinach. And, 2. Aloo Gobi - Potatoes & cauliflower cooked in a hot & spicy sauce

I highly recommend you try them next time you are there for lunch or dinner.

FortWorthCate

DesignerBee said...

I love your review! Bombay Grill is excellent. And the owner is extremely friendly. Their chicken shahi korma is one of my favorites. I don't think it's on the menu, but ask and you shall receive: GARLIC NAAN. It's awesome. And I have no idea what they are called, but I love the unleavened "circles" (as I call them) that are placed in front of you as soon as you arrive. Delicious crackery thing. Typical of most Indian places, but those darn circles make me happy every time. Keep up the awesome reviews!

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

David, thanks for the info.

Jennifer, I haven't had the crackberry before. When do they serve it?

Kimbo said...

Bombay Grill is pretty good, but Maharaja (down Hulen before you get to Old Granbury in the Blockbuster/Starplex shopping center, right next to Sear's driving school) is actually better in my opinion. It's been there for at least 25 years and is some of the best Indian food I've ever eaten. I'm partial to their dinner, but they have a great lunch buffet as well. The owner of Bombay Grill actually used to work at Maharaja and is a family member (i think?) of the man that owns it now.
They are super friendly and know my family (and our usual order).
You should give it a try! Favorites : saag gost (spicy spinach and lamb), navratan korma (curry/cream delicious veggies) and of course, Chicken Tikka Masala (Marsala without the R)
Love your blog. Just found it and it's reminding me of the delicious-ness of home :)

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Kimbo, thanks for the recommendation. I've been looking for more Indian food places. Do you know if there are any grocery stores that specialize in Indian food?

Thanks for reading and glad you found ths blog.

Amanda said...

I love Indian food and go to Bombay and Maharaja when I need a fix. Neither are "amazing" but hit the spot when I'm craving Indian. I love their lunch buffets because you get to sample lots of things. I'd say they are an equal toss up in being good and price.

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Amanda, I haven't been to Maharaja yet. Is it worth a trip? Also, do you have any great Indian food places to recommend in Fort Worth?

Thanks for reading and posting.

Ruqiya said...

I recently moved to Fort Worth, and love reading the reviews on your blog. I'm also Indian/Pakistani, so the food here was mediocre for me as well, but there's really no choice for Indian food in Fort Worth :) Anyways there is a market in Arlington called Import Food Market, and they have a wide selection of indo/pak and Mediterranean foods, spices, as well as fresh meats, cheeses and breads! One of my favorite groceries stores in the area!

701 East Pioneer Parkway
Arlington, TX 76010-8556
(817) 265-8875

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Rugiya, I haven't been yet, but I've been told Maharaja is supposed to be pretty good. Its located at 6308 Hulen Bend Blvd.

Ruqiya said...

Thanks, I'll definitely try it out!

tsm said...

maharaja is totally worth visiting...we went the other day, looking for some good indian food. i had the chicken tikka masala and vegetable samosas - awesome! my husband liked his channa masala punjabi and garlic naan. i like paneer (cheese) but not fried - pekora paneer.TRY IT! the restaurant, i mean...
tsm

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

TSM, thanks for the recommendation. I've been a bit deficient in my Indian food eating lately. I'll make that a late January Resolution.

-FWHITW