One of the great things about the Capital Region is its wide variety of ethnic restaurants. For example, when Tandoori Palace opened at the corner of Lark and Madison in Albany earlier this year, it became the sixth Indian restaurant in the tri-city area.
Unfortunately, newer does not equal better, especially in the restaurant industry. Tandoori Palace is my latest illustration of that truism.
An old friend came out from Boston to visit my wife and me for lunch on the way through town. (For those of you who have been reading this column for awhile, he was formerly described as our “out-of-town sushi expert.”) This particular Sunday, though, we were in the mood for Indian, so I suggested trying out the new place.
On weekends, we discovered, Tandoori Palace offers a lunch buffet—perfect for a review, as we got to try a little of everything, and I got to try a lot of the papadum: addictive lentil wafers seasoned with peppercorns, one of my favorite items at any Indian restaurant. The papadum at Tandoori Palace was particularly good.
Most of the food, though, was not really up to snuff. The most surprising thing was that a lot of it seemed bland, which is practically unheard of in Indian food. The chicken curry was not spicy at all, the chana saag—a spinach and chick peas dish—was a little bit watery, and despite the name of the restaurant, even the tandoori chicken was lacking in flavor.
Credit must be given, though, for a few other items. Both of the desserts that were offered were excellent. There were these balls of some sort of dough (possibly made from rice) that were fried up and coated in a sweet sauce that I think was honey-based: very tasty. Even better was a dish consisting largely of pureed mangoes; it was very orange and tasted fantastic.
Also, my wife and our friend both report that their tea was very good, although it comes in rather small cups, which wouldn’t be a problem, except that our service was terrible and it took forever to get refills.
The prices are just about the same as the other Indian restaurants in the area (except Sitar, which is a step up on both the classiness and the price scale).
In an area where restaurant choices are few, Tandoori Palace would likely be a welcome addition. As it stands, though, I’d have to recommend you give it a miss—there are plenty of better options around.
Tandoori Palace is located at the corner of Lark St. and Madison Ave. in Albany. To get there, take I-787 south into downtown Albany, and take the Madison Ave. exit. Go straight off of the ramp, and up the hill through the underpass at Empire State Plaza.
The third light after that is Lark St. (There’s a Dunkin’ Donuts on the far corner.) Tandoori Palace is on the near right-hand corner—you may need to circle the block to find a parking space.
Editor’s Note: The Poly wants to hear from you! If you have any questions or comments about the “Words to Eat By” column, or if you have suggestions for restaurants to review, please e-mail them to restaurants@poly.rpi.edu.
