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Mexican Lifestyles Food & Dining DINING OUT: Goa Gets Goin', At Long Last, Indian Cuisine In Guadalajara
Mexican Lifestyles Food & Dining DINING OUT: Goa Gets Goin', At Long Last, Indian Cuisine In Guadalajara | DINING OUT: Goa Gets Goin', At Long Last, Indian Cuisine In Guadalajara |
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| Written by Michael Shapiro | |
| Saturday, 20 May 2006 | |
 'It's easy to spot Goa, the new Indian restaurant in Guadalajara, just look for the colorful hanging lamps.' - Photo By S. Godfrey And having patiently waited for some Indian food, I'm pleased to report that Goa, named after a state on India's west coast, has opened its doors on – where else – López Cotilla, that increasingly international bastion of good eatin'. The owners are a savvy family of local entrepreneurs, among them a young Indian guy who also recruited the restaurant's chef from India. The same owners opened a successful Indian import store in Santa Tere last year, and many of the items sold there adorn the walls and hang from the ceiling of Goa. (Just look for the restaurant with the colorful hanging lamps - you can't miss it.) Goa's menu includes an adequate array of appetizers, salads, chicken-, beef-, and vegetarian-based options. If you're like me you'll have a tough time choosing, so go with a small group and pass around the bowls. The more variety, the less thinking, the more energy you can devote to eating. We started with a few orders of samosas, both veggie (47 pesos for two) and meat (52 pesos for two) varieties, both a little light on the Indian spices but tasty nonetheless. Among our entrees were Indian-restaurant staples: tikka masala, (tandoori-style chicken, 78 pesos); kerala (chicken in peanut sauce with coconut milk and chili pepper seasoning, 78 pesos); beef korma (beef curry with raisins and nuts); shahi paneer (cheese with a sauce of cashews, spices, and curry, 65 pesos); and palak aloo (spinach and potatoes, with a creamy curry, cumin, cilantro, and ginger sauce, 65 pesos). The tikka masala was my hands-down favorite, the chicken tender and slightly charred and very well seasoned in the tandoori style. I'm told that an honest-to-goodness tandoor oven is on its way from the U.S., which I assume will only make a good thing better. And I'm hoping that the tandoori menu options will increase along with that acquisition. I enjoyed the other dishes – particularly the beef korma and the palak aloo – but I found them less noteworthy due to their more subtle spice and flavor. That's not something I find myself saying very often at an Indian restaurant; I'm not sure whether the toned-down spice is specific to the region of India or, rather, the region of Guadalajara, and that the chef doesn't want to risk offending the Tapatio palate. Then there's the fact that the restaurant only recently opened, so I wouldn't be surprised if the flavors and degree of spiciness evolve with time. Given what I tasted, Goa is definitely on the right track. And that, again, is where patience comes into play. One must also be patient for the naan, the wonderful Indian bread, which isn't yet on the menu. With time and with the oven, they tell me. I can wait a little longer. Goa, López Cotilla 1520-A (between Marsella and Chapultepec), Guadalajara. Tel. 3615-6173. Open daily 1 pm-12 midnight. |
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