Indian Lunch Buffets? (Pittsburgh, Allentown, Fox Chapel: transplants, real estate, chapel)

[SteelCityRising]

Good Morning!

I’ve been craving Indian food lately like Yac craves pierogies!

I have a very limited exposure to Pittsburgh’s Indian restaurants and was hoping for some advice.

My favorite Indian dish is Palak Paneer. Do any of the local restaurants have lunch buffets where this dish is a typical feature? I’ve been checking online, and I can’t seem to find lunch buffet menus for local Indian restaurants. Is that because they frequently change/rotate the dishes they offer?

I’ve had delivery before from All India in North Oakland, which I liked. I’ve also dined in person at Coriander in Squirrel Hill, which I also liked.

According to TripAdvisor nothing can compare to Taj Mahal on McKnight(mare) Road. I know I’m bizarre, but as a city resident and employee I’d like to spend my dollars today in the city. I’m also interested in possibly walking to an Indian buffet for lunch (it rains here everyday, so I’ll just bring the umbrella!)

From Polish Hill I guess I could walk to (in descending order of TripAdvisor ratings): Indian Spices (Downtown); Taste of India (Bloomfield); Tandoor (North Oakland); Bombay Curry (Central Oakland); Bangal Kabab (Central Oakland); Prince of India (Central Oakland); All India (North Oakland); Yuva (North Oakland); Tamarind (North Oakland); People’s (Garfield); and India Palace (Downtown).

Have you of you eaten at any of the above locations for lunch buffets, and, if so, what would you recommend?!

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

From Polish Hill I guess I could walk to (in descending order of TripAdvisor ratings): Indian Spices (Downtown); Taste of India (Bloomfield); Tandoor (North Oakland); Bombay Curry (Central Oakland); Bangal Kabab (Central Oakland); Prince of India (Central Oakland); All India (North Oakland); Yuva (North Oakland); Tamarind (North Oakland); People’s (Garfield); and India Palace (Downtown).

I am no great connoisseur of Indian food, but I can say I find the quality of the buffet food to differ little from that on the regular menu at Tamarind on North Craig Street. I have eaten at Coriander a few times, but found the buffet food so unappetizing each time, I ordered from the regular menu. I know I've eaten at a number of the others you list, but none stands out, either good or bad.

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

My favorite Indian dish is Palak Paneer. Do any of the local restaurants have lunch buffets where this dish is a typical feature?

I think Tamarind has Palak Paneer on the buffet menu. Call and ask: 412-605-0500

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by jay5835

I am no great connoisseur of Indian food, but I can say I find the quality of the buffet food to differ little from that on the regular menu at Tamarind on North Craig Street. I have eaten at Coriander a few times, but found the buffet food so unappetizing each time, I ordered from the regular menu. I know I've eaten at a number of the others you list, but none stands out, either good or bad.
I think Tamarind has Palak Paneer on the buffet menu. Call and ask: 412-605-0500

Thank you, Jay! I can always count on our resident East End foodie to save the day!

I’m aware that as a Palak Paneer fan I’ll receive better quality if I order it off the menu as an entree vs. get some from a buffet. I’d just rather spend $10-$11 on a buffet to get a sampling of many dishes, though, to expand my palette vs. paying $10-$11 to get just one “safety” dish I know I’ll like. I’d like for my plate to be just one spoonful of Palak Paneer (just to satisfy my craving) while I try new Indian dishes to see what I like and don’t like. I’m very virgin (insert Copanut joke here?) to Indian food and want to eat it more often and enjoy a wider array of dishes.

Part of me just wants to break down and drive to Taj Mahal today because supposedly they have a massive buffet, but I’d feel guilty spending my city taxpayer-funded salary in the suburbs. �� I’ll likely call Tamarind when they open to inquire about their lunch buffet offerings today.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

I am not sure of the buffet options, but I am partial to People’s Indian on Penn in Garfield.

[PghYinzer]

Haven’t been here yet, but it opened to great fanfare...heck there was a line outside the night before it opened.

https://choolaah.com

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

I am not sure of the buffet options, but I am partial to People’s Indian on Penn in Garfield.

I’ve never dined at People’s, but I used to pick up Wheel Deliver and Postmates orders from there and always appreciated that the staff there never seemed annoyed by my presence the way many other restaurants’ staffers did (cough...Mad Mex...cough...La Féria). The ambiance seemed to leave a lot to be desired (one crowded room with drab decor), but I’d be going for the food—not the atmosphere.

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Haven’t been here yet, but it opened to great fanfare...heck there was a line outside the night before it opened.

https://choolaah.com

I may try that place out in a few months when the “hype” has died down. All of my East End Facebook friends were buzzing about it. I also don’t know if I’d specifically want barbecue. In addition, I’d feel guilty eating at what is probably a relatively expensive restaurant with a probably 98% white clientele in a neighborhood that is becoming the poster child for gentrification that has not been kind to the black community.

[gg]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

In addition, I’d feel guilty eating at what is probably a relatively expensive restaurant with a probably 98% white clientele in a neighborhood that is becoming the poster child for gentrification that has not been kind to the black community.

Yes, it was tough on the relocated black community to move to brand new places right down the road and out of the high-rise dilapidated dumps that used to be in East Liberty. I mean, come on!

Anyway, there seems to be a buzz around this new place. Not sure why? I usually make Indian at home in my clean kitchen.

There is a buffet in Aspinwall called Spice Affair, but I suspect you are prejudice against anything not being in the city limits. I always find it interesting that people in the suburbs are so open-minded and welcoming to neighboring things, while people in the city are so closed minded and angry about anything that isn't within the city limits. Some people can't afford the city, so some have to live outside the city and I wish the city people would get over themselves. Talk about uppity.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by gg

Yes, it was tough on the relocated black community to move to brand new places right down the road and out of the high-rise dilapidated dumps that used to be in East Liberty. I mean, come on!

Anyway, there seems to be a buzz around this new place. Not sure why? I usually make Indian at home in my clean kitchen.

There is a buffet in Aspinwall called Spice Affair, but I suspect you are prejudice against anything not being in the city limits. I always find it interesting that people in the suburbs are so open-minded and welcoming to neighboring things, while people in the city are so closed minded and angry about anything that isn't within the city limits. Some people can't afford the city, so some have to live outside the city and I wish the city people would get over themselves. Talk about uppity.

It has nothing at all to do with being “uppity”.

I work for the police, have a city residency requirement, and city taxpayers pay my salary. As such I like to redistribute as great of a proportion of my income as possible back into city retailers and restaurants because, in turn, the more vibrant city businesses do, the more money the city reaps, and the more likely we’ll be to have public infrastructure that isn’t so horribly decrepit.

McCandless, Fox Chapel, Cranberry, Peters, etc. don’t need my money.
Pittsburgh does (and also needs suburbanites’ money).

If I don’t spend a dime in Cranberry the businesses there will still be booming.
If I don’t spend a dime in the city the businesses here will fold.

Only 1/4 of Allegheny Countians and about 15% of metro residents actually live in the city, so city business owners need city residents to spend as much of their income as possible IN THE CITY. If the city collapses, then your Fox Chapel home is worth $1 since Fox Chapel wouldn’t exist if not for the city existing. It’s in all of our best interests to make sure the city can stay afloat (pun intended as we flood again for the second weekend in a row).

[gg]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

If I don’t spend a dime in Cranberry the businesses there will still be booming.
If I don’t spend a dime in the city the businesses here will fold..

What is this the 1990's? The city is booming and everyone is making tons of money and real estate is through the roof. Lawrenceville is more expensive than O'Hara Twp. for what you get. You get a two bedroom dump in Lawrenceville or a nice home in O'Hara, your pick.

The city is uppity, not meaning you personally as you have a reason to do everything there due to your job, but city people are much less open to venture away from the city since they are prejudice against all suburbs and even go so far as to categorize everyone that lives outside of the city limits as bad/evil. People in the suburbs don't care and are much more open-minded. It sure is an interesting shift these days how the city residents act. The mellow open-minded suburbs or the uppity city.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by gg

What is this the 1990's? The city is booming and everyone is making tons of money and real estate is through the roof. Lawrenceville is more expensive than O'Hara Twp. for what you get. You get a two bedroom dump in Lawrenceville or a nice home in O'Hara, your pick.

The city is uppity, not meaning you personally as you have a reason to do everything there due to your job, but city people are much less open to venture away from the city since they are prejudice against all suburbs and even go so far as to categorize everyone that lives outside of the city limits as bad/evil. People in the suburbs don't care and are much more open-minded. It sure is an interesting shift these days how the city residents act. The mellow open-minded suburbs or the uppity city.

“The city” is a lot more than just Lawrenceville, Shadyside, Friendship, Point Breeze, Polish Hill, Squirrel Hill, Greenfield, Brookline, Westwood, Highland Park, Morningside, Stanton Heights, Banksville, Overbrook, Bon Air, Mexican War Streets, Oakland, Bloomfield, East Liberty, Downtown, Allegheny West, East Allegheny, Troy Hill, South Side Flats, Strip District, Spring Hill, South Side Slopes, Manchester, Regent Square, Ridgemont. Swisshelm Park, Brighton Heights, and Observatory Hill.

“The city” is also Homewood, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington, Hill District, Hazelwood, Garfield, Beltzhoover, Knoxville, Allentown, Arlington, St. Clair, Mt. Oliver, Carrick, Beechview, Sheraden, Esplen, Elliott, West End, California-Kirkbride, Brghtwood, Woods Run, Perry South, Spring Garden, Uptown, and other neighborhoods in dire need of help.

Most of these rougher neighborhoods (save for Allentown and Beechview) don’t seem to be getting any better. The city needs more money to make long overdue improvements in investing in these neglected neighborhoods. The city’s current 10 homicides for 2018 places it amongst the most violent cities in the country, and we continue to have a police staffing shortage. Our roads, sidewalks, and bridges—even in the posh neighborhoods—are falling apart. We don’t have enough bike lanes.

So, yes, while half the city is now comprised of techie transplants from San Francisco buying “cheap” (to them) $500,000 East End homes while sipping Chianti and listening to Enya the other half is in deep trouble. As such I’m going to try to keep spending money in the city to make the city “great” instead of “above-average”.