India Grill on Thursday

Thursday April 9, 2015

Seven of us tonight at the India Grill in Cypress. www.ocindiagrill.com,  Started out with the mixed appetizer plate. Vegetable Pokoras, Somosas, Chicken and Lamb Tikka. Somosas are great. I felt the Vegetable Pokoras were over fried. Needed to pick them up by your fingers to eat. Hard to get a fork into them. Did not try the meats because they have a tendency to be over dry for me. I like meat cooked rare not well done and also we were having meat dishes at dinner. CJ likes very well done meat. He was ordering so that is what we got.

CJ had them make a dish that is not on the menu. Chile Chicken. Great flavor but too spicy for me. Should have been made mild not medium. Screwed my palate up. This dish would be better with beer not wine.

Regular Basmati rice and Vegetable Biryani rice were set down. We also had Garlic Naan and Onion Kulcha which is a Naan bread with onions in the dough. Good flavor and generous amounts.

A sizzling platter of Tibetin Lamb with onions and other vegetables was brought. Had two pieces. Too dry for me but again good flavor.

Bowls of Nirvana Chicken were next. White meat with a mild cashew curry sauce. The sauces are what really makes the dish. Flavors are excellent.

We rounded out dinner with Shrimp Masala and Saag (spinach) with carrots and cauliflower. Both flavorful and good.

A real mixed bag of wine. A couple of bubblies that really hit the spot. A Bailly-Lapiere Cremant de Borgogne, Rose of Pinot Noir. Written down as a 2014 but it was older than that - probably a 2004 because a discussion was made about it being 9 years old. Had a funky nose and taste but that blew off quickly.  We also had a NV Louis Bouillet Rose.  Both wines hit the spot when it came to the spicy food.

The rest of the lineup:

2009 Clos Pepe Estate , Sta. Rita Hills, Pinot Noir - showing very well after it opened up a bit - typical Clos Pepe - well balanced

2007 D'Alfonso-Curran, Sanford and Bendict, Sta. Rita Hills, Pinot Noir - at its optimum now

2010 Saxum,  Paso Robles, Broken Stones, blend - excellent wine but I think it still needs a few years

2012 King Estate, Oregon, Pinot Gris - did not taste this wine - I am not a Pinot Gris fan - Greg made a comment about King Estate being one of his favorites in Oregon

2012 Albrecht, Gewurztraminer -  spicy and a good wine for the Indian food

2012 Flowers, Sonoma Coast, Pinot Noir -  very good wine - showing well, lush, good mouth feel, well balanced, complex - needs a few years to bloom

2013 Orin Swift Cellars, Napa, Red Wine - blend - very big, too young - needs a few years - would be best with heavy meats like lamb shanks or short ribs - not the best choice for Indian food