|
Tamarind Restaurant
Pittsburgh, PA
(Scroll down to read the review)
Indian Restaurants in USA
Restaurants Reviews
|
Aaheli, NYC
Aangan, Freehold, NJ
Abhiruchi, North Brunswick
Akbar Edison
Amma Vienna, VA
Angeethi, Herndon, VA
Anjappar Chettinad, New Jersey
Ayurveda Cafe, New York
Baluchi's NYC ,(W. 56th St)
Bawarchi, NYC
Bay Leaf, NYC
Bhojan, NYC
Biryani Cart, NYC
Bombay Cafe Fairfax, VA
Bombay Palace, New York
Bombay Talk, Iselin, NJ
Brick Lane Curry House, New York
Bukhara Grill, NYC
Chand Palace, Parsippany, NJ
Chennai, New York
Chennai Garden, NYC
Chennai Ponnusamy, NJ
Chilli Chicken, Queens, NY
Chinese Mirch, NYC
Cinnamon, NYC
Chola, New York
Chopstick, New Jersey
Copper Chimney, New York
Copper Chimney 2, NYC
Coriander, Edison
Coriander Indian Bistro, New Jersey
Darbar, New York
Darbar Grill, New York
DE Hindu Temple Canteen
Delhi Heights, New York
Delhi Palace, NY
Desi Chaat House, Philadelphia
Devi, Exton
Dhaba, NYC
Dishes of India, VA
Diwan, Hicksville, NY
|
Dosa Cart,(W. 39th St)
Dosa Diner, Hicksville
Dosa Express, New Jersey
Dosa Grill, New Jersey
Dosa Hut, Jersey City
Dosa HuttFlushing
Earthen Oven, New York
Gagan Bistro, Marlton
Ganesh Dosa House, New Jersey
Ganesh Temple Canteen, New York 1
Ganesh Temple Canteen, NY 2
Ganges, New Jersey
Ghar-E-Kabab Silver Spring
Guru Palace, North Brunswick
Heritage India Dupont Circle
HimalayaDE
House of Dosas
House of India
Hoysala, Somerset NJ
Idly's, Iselin
India' Annapolis
India Garden, Pittsburgh
India Grille, Wilmington
India Palace, Pittsburgh
Jackson Diner, NYC
iSpice, NJ
Jackson Diner, NYC
Jewel of India, NYC
Karahi, New York
Karaikudi Chettinad, Edison
Kashmir Garden, Philadelphia
Khyber, NJ
King of Tandoor, Philadelphia
Lovash, Philadelphia
Madras Cafe, New York
Madras Mahal, Manhattan, NYC
Madras Woodlands, NY
Madras Palace Gaithersburg
Maharaja , Milwaukee
Maharaja Sweets NYC
Maharaja DE
|
Mallu Cafe, Philadelphia
Mango Grove Columbia
Mantra, Paramus, NJ
Masti Indian Grill, East Windsor
Mayuri, Reston, VA
Mazza, DE
Minerva Gaithersburg
Minerva, Chantilly, VA
Mirchi North Brunswick, NJ
Moghul Express, NJ
Moghul, New Jersey
Monsoon NJ Mt Laurel NJ
Mumbai Bistro Philadelphia
Myilai Masala, Hamilton NJ
Mysore Woodlands, NJ
Namaste India, Pittsburgh
Nanking, Iselin, NJ
New Azaad, Philadelphia
New Delhi, Philadelphia
Nirvana DE
Palace of Asia, Cherry Hill
Palace of Asia, Wilmington DE
Palace at the Ben, Philadelphia
Palace of Jaipur, South Plainfield, NJ
Philadelphia Chutney Company
Punjab Dhaba, Falls Church, VA
Rajbhog, Cherry Hill
Rajdhani, New Jersey
Rangoli, Chantilly, VA
Rasoi, New Jersey
Royal Tangra Masala, New York
Royal Taj, Columbia
Salaam Bombay, New York
SankalpEdison
Sankalp NJ
Sapphire, Broadway
Sapthagiri, Jersey City NJ 1
Sapthagiri 2
Saravanaa Bhavan, NYC
Saravanaa Bhavan, Oak Tree Rd - 1
Saravanaa Bhavan, Oak Tree Rd - 2
|
Saravana Palace, Fairfax, VA
Saravanaas, New York
Shake ShackNYC
Simla, New York
Sitar India, Philadelphia
Southern Spice, Flushing, NY
Spice Corner
Spice Melange, Metuchen
Star of India, Pittsburgh
Sukhadia's, Edison, NJ
Sukhadia's, New York
Sukh Sagar Bensalem
Sukh Sagar, Piscataway, NJ
Surya, New York
Swagath Ashburn, VA
Swagath, New Jersey - 1
Swagath, New Jersey - 2
Swaminarayan Sweets
Szechuan Garden, New Jersey
Tadka, New York
Taj India, Philadelphia
Taj Mahal, Pittsburgh
Tamarind, Pittsburgh
Tamba, Las Vegas
Taste of India, DE
Tawa Piscataway
Thulasi, Bensalem
Tiffin Wallah, New York
Udipi Cafe, New Jersey
Udipi Cafe, Pittsburgh
Urban Spice, Iselin, NJ
Urban Tadkaa, NJ
Utsav, New York
Vatan, New Jersey
Vishnu Vilas, IL
Volga, New Jersey
Woodlands, Fairfax, VA
Woodlands Langley Park
Yuva, New York
Zaiaka, Pittsburgh
|
|
Tamarind Restaurant
Reviewer's Summary: Below Average Food; Poor Service
Address & Telephone No:
Tamarind
2101 Greentree Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15220
Ph: 412-278-4848
Hours:
Lunch
Tuesday - Friday
11:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Saturday & Sunday
12:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Dinner
Tues, Wed, Thurs & Sun
5:00 PM to 9:30 PM
Friday & Saturday
5:00 PM to 9:40 PM
Closed Mondays
|
|
We never suffered from Buyer's remorse even when we purchased a big screen LCD TV that we didn't need.
But a meal at Tamarind Indian restaurant in Pittsburgh was enough to send us into a severe fit of Buyer's remorse.
Tamarind is a remorseless Indian restaurant doling out dollops of misery without qualm.
Our meal at Tamarind Indian restaurant on Greentree Road in Pittsburgh was a chronicle of repeated assaults on the tastebuds and inexcusable poor service.
South Indian restaurants are still the exception than the norm in the U.S. And hailing as we do from a Southern corner of India, we hanker for food from that region.
So, it was with heightened expectation that we visited Tamarind Indian restaurant the other day.
Being gluttons for South Indian food, we ordered a variety of items including both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes but confronted repeated disappointments.
Our Andhra Spicy Dosa ($6.25) came cold and soft to the table. Although the accompanying Sambar was tasty, the Chutney was obscenely cold and bland. For us, one of the barometers of a good South Indian restaurant is its Chutney. Is the Chutney fresh, does it feel like it's just been removed out of the fridge and is it tasty.
By any yardstick, Tamarind's Chutney is a bad impostor of real Chutney.
Tamarind touts the Andhra Dosa as a Special Dosa on its menu, but the plain crepe topped with coriander, garlic, chili powder and tamarind was anything but special. The cold Dosa and awful Chutney robbed us of the pleasure of what could have been a tasty dish. We also felt the Dosa could have been a tad spicier.
It still mystifies us as to why Tamarind's chef decided to hang on to the Andhra Dosa in the kitchen until it had become stone cold. Was it a case of possessiveness gone too far?
For many years, Chicken 65 has been a big favorite with us. But the Chicken 65 at Tamarind restaurant was such a big source of frustration because the chef failed to add enough chili powder to it. In fact, Chicken 65 was so insipid that we wondered if the chef even added any chili powder at all.
Perhaps to compensate for the cold Andhra Dosa, the chef sent out Chicken Chettinad ($9.99) steaming hot to the table. But
while Tamarind's Chicken Chettinad was hot in temperature, it was too mildly spiced resulting in lack of flavor to the dish. When cooked well, Chicken Chettinad - succulent boneless chicken cooked in a spicy gravy with coconut milk and pepper - is a treat whose delightful memories can linger long after the meal is over. However, the Chicken Chettinad we had at Tamarind was a poor imitation.
As we pecked at our food desultorily, we concluded that food this unappetizing can come only from a chef of modest talents.
Lady Luck smiled upon us just once during our Tamarind meal in the form of Masala Vada.
Compared with the rest of the unappetizing fare we were served at Tamarind, Masala Vada ($2.99) was a delight. Most South Indian restaurants in the U.S. serve Medhu Vada but give Masala Vada the pass. We think that's a big mistake. Tamarind has wisely refrained from going down that path.
Tamarind's Masala Vadas (you get two pieces) were beyond reproach. These Channa Dal Vadas were crisp and came hot to the table. But the accompanying Coconut Chutney was pitiful. Like the Chutney that came with the Andhra Spicy Dosa, it was cold and bland.
Make sure you don't miss the Masala Vadas if you are heading to Tamarind.
The service at Tamarind can only be described as sloppy.
After taking our orders, the restaurant manager and the two waitresses would disappear. Like the Halley's Comet, they would rarely reappear and even when they did made it difficult for us to catch their attention. What made the poor service inexcusable was that Tamarind was not even crowded when we were there. Tamarind's restaurant manager seemed more interested in chatting with a family (presumably from Karnataka since the family members were speaking Kannada) in the opposite corner.
Further distressing us, one of the waitresses was moving around with her finger in her mouth (we completely sympathized with her plight in extricating whatever had got stuck in her teeth but felt queasy about her serving us food). The same young lady also botched up our desserts order subsequently.
We had ordered a single Almond Kulfi and a Madras Coffee. She came back with two Kulfis. When we gently pointed out the mistake, she rudely insisted that we had ordered two Kulfis and with a sulk took one back to the kitchen.
In retrospect, we shouldn't have bothered with both the Kulfi and the Coffee - neither of them had any merit. A pathetic caricature of the rich, creamy Kulfis that melt in the mouth, Tamarind's version of Kulfi was a tasteless, sweetless imitation. Kulfi is a favorite street dessert for tens of millions of Indians. For more than four decades, we've enjoyed Kulfi in many cities in India and the U.S. but rarely encountered Kulfi as badly prepared as the one we were served at Tamarind.
Madras Coffee came to us in such a tepid form suggesting a kitchen that has little respect for its diners.
As a guidepost to fine South Indian food, Tamarind fails miserably.
With food this unappetizing and service so offkey, we resolved that Tamarind would be an afterthought the next time we felt like a meal at an Indian restaurant in Pittsburgh. - © Rekha Inc.
|
|
|
