Bombay Bistro. Best Indian in Boulder
Perhaps it was a little bit of pre-holiday blues, but I didn’t want to go home to the routine tonight. J picked me up from the RTD stop after work, and asked if we could make an errand for her. Our pattern already disrupted, I asked if we could go to the Pearl Street mall, and go to the bookstore. “But what will we eat?” she asked.
A year ago, we had a lovely dinner at the Bombay Bistro. We don’t go out much because of the cost, and so where to go was a difficult question. Tired and increasingly hungry, we decided to go back to the one place (aside from a bar) that we knew well.
What a fantastic choice. We ordered three 1/2 entrées: the lamb vindaloo, the channa saag (chickpeas in puréed spinach), and the bindi sabzi (okra sautéed in onion, garlic, and ginger). We were also happy to find out that the meals all used local (as much as possible) and natural ingredients.
Each entrée, by mostly chance, enhanced the other. The vindaloo melted in our mouths, and the red sauce had none of the heaviness that can sometimes make the dish sit low in stomach. In addition, the vindaloo carried just enough sweetness to enhance the meaty taste without overpowering the dish. It make a perfect foil for the sabzi, my personal favorite. I have never had okra in an Indian restaurant, but I will have a hard time not ordering it for as long as I live. It was made not only with onion, ginger, and garlic, but lemon and cilantro. Each ingredient was sautéed to perfection, especially the okra, which was cooked enough to have some crunch without being burnt. Nothing was cooked with too much oil. For me, the lemon took the dish to a higher level. I felt as if here was an Indian version of the mexican salsa, but nonetheless all of its own.
Finally, the saag made its mark with a spicy finish that surprised me. It was so smooth that I somehow forgot that it could also be hot. Inside the spinach were the chickpeas, so tender I thought they were cooked raisins. J thought that the spinach didn’t need to have been puréed as much as it was, but it was a question of style, not quality. We know that our child just became introduced to some excellent good food out in the world.
J grew up with an Indian friend, Mona, and would go over to her house and learn how to cook from her friend’s mother. (I have this friend to thank for the samosas and curries that J makes today. J even makes her own curries!) J said that she has never had food this good since she ate Mona’s mother’s food. When the owner, Paul Guild, stopped by our table, he told us that he and his staff try to cook food that they would like to eat themselves. We believe him.
To sum up, we loved the meal, and began feeling a little amorous by the end of it. And why not?
