Bobby
10-12-2006, 02:29 PM
I don't normally criticize restaurants as it is a difficult enough business to begin with, but I have to report my visit to this local restaurant, perhaps to save anyone from disappointment.
It's called Spice of Life and it's in the Publix Plaza on Hwy 27.
We needed a quick stop for lunch, and thought we'd give it a try, having been in 90% of Indian restaurants in the Orlando/Kissimmee areas, we thought we'd give it a try.
From the moment we walked through the door we could tell that it was in it's infancy. (we later found out 3 weeks). The service was disjointed. Not sure who was taking our drinks order, as the chef, waiter, owner was more interested in sorting his newly arrived mail before approaching our table. So we got some drinks and some poppadums and a 4 pot dish of sauces, which the lady (presumably the man's wife) had to stir up at the table to give some life. (I'll come to my idea of what's going on with the sauces later!)
We ordered a starter. The weirdest looking onion bhaji I have ever seen in my life. Basically it was onion rings and broken strips. You'd have to see it. It tasted just like onion rings too. Later when we were asked if everything was OK, we had a discussion about the onion and we were told that the onions here are too wet and they can't get them to stick together :)
So how does every other Indian restaurant in the area manage?? I asked.
The main dish arrived and it looked great. We had plenty of time to look at it, as it took another amount of time for the rice that accompanies it, to come out. We had a nan bread that tasted like the one you take home and reheat a few days later. Very chewy, dull, tasteless and basically inedible.
Our main dish was like something you'd buy in Publix and add a bit more water to spread it out around the family. It didn't taste too bad, and I'll say that the chicken tikka part of the dish was acceptable. Nothing more or less. Just acceptable. We were only in for a quick lunch. (incidentally, there was no special lunch menu, although buffet will be arriving soon).
The owners were keen to find out how we enjoyed it etc. so a short discussion ensued giving our honest opinion.
The onion excuse was made and then the reason that the main dish sauce was watery was because it's "proper Indian food that way" "we did that just for you"
I suggested that they stick to what people expect from ordering a common Indian dish and any variation was going to turn customers away, especially if it tastes like a cheapened version of what you were expecting.
On my trip to the restroom, I stumbled upon 3 or 4 plates each with 3 or 4 of those sauce dishes served up with the starter poppadums. Partially disturbed by previous clientèle. Why hadn't they been trashed by now? We were the only people in there at that point and only one table when we arrived. I had my own thoughts on the matter, and it made me uncomfortable.
Anyway, just to round off the lunch, our 2 and a half year old, who had been eating the rice, threw it all up across the table just as we were paying the bill. She's never been a sicky baby, but we were willing to put it down to her having a cold (or certainly the owner was very willing to put it down to this!) She's had her cold for about 2 weeks now. Never thrown up. So let's just say it was a coincidence.
We'll use her as our taster in future. If she keeps it down, we'll return to the restaurant!
Anyway, hopefully they'll get things organized and try to do it properly. They seem to be willing. But for now, I'd steer clear until they get their footing.
One thing that amused me no end, was that at one point when I asked about ingredients, she jumped at me and said, "these are proper Indian spices and ingredients, we bring them in from England" ...and she was deadly serious!
It's called Spice of Life and it's in the Publix Plaza on Hwy 27.
We needed a quick stop for lunch, and thought we'd give it a try, having been in 90% of Indian restaurants in the Orlando/Kissimmee areas, we thought we'd give it a try.
From the moment we walked through the door we could tell that it was in it's infancy. (we later found out 3 weeks). The service was disjointed. Not sure who was taking our drinks order, as the chef, waiter, owner was more interested in sorting his newly arrived mail before approaching our table. So we got some drinks and some poppadums and a 4 pot dish of sauces, which the lady (presumably the man's wife) had to stir up at the table to give some life. (I'll come to my idea of what's going on with the sauces later!)
We ordered a starter. The weirdest looking onion bhaji I have ever seen in my life. Basically it was onion rings and broken strips. You'd have to see it. It tasted just like onion rings too. Later when we were asked if everything was OK, we had a discussion about the onion and we were told that the onions here are too wet and they can't get them to stick together :)
So how does every other Indian restaurant in the area manage?? I asked.
The main dish arrived and it looked great. We had plenty of time to look at it, as it took another amount of time for the rice that accompanies it, to come out. We had a nan bread that tasted like the one you take home and reheat a few days later. Very chewy, dull, tasteless and basically inedible.
Our main dish was like something you'd buy in Publix and add a bit more water to spread it out around the family. It didn't taste too bad, and I'll say that the chicken tikka part of the dish was acceptable. Nothing more or less. Just acceptable. We were only in for a quick lunch. (incidentally, there was no special lunch menu, although buffet will be arriving soon).
The owners were keen to find out how we enjoyed it etc. so a short discussion ensued giving our honest opinion.
The onion excuse was made and then the reason that the main dish sauce was watery was because it's "proper Indian food that way" "we did that just for you"
I suggested that they stick to what people expect from ordering a common Indian dish and any variation was going to turn customers away, especially if it tastes like a cheapened version of what you were expecting.
On my trip to the restroom, I stumbled upon 3 or 4 plates each with 3 or 4 of those sauce dishes served up with the starter poppadums. Partially disturbed by previous clientèle. Why hadn't they been trashed by now? We were the only people in there at that point and only one table when we arrived. I had my own thoughts on the matter, and it made me uncomfortable.
Anyway, just to round off the lunch, our 2 and a half year old, who had been eating the rice, threw it all up across the table just as we were paying the bill. She's never been a sicky baby, but we were willing to put it down to her having a cold (or certainly the owner was very willing to put it down to this!) She's had her cold for about 2 weeks now. Never thrown up. So let's just say it was a coincidence.
We'll use her as our taster in future. If she keeps it down, we'll return to the restaurant!
Anyway, hopefully they'll get things organized and try to do it properly. They seem to be willing. But for now, I'd steer clear until they get their footing.
One thing that amused me no end, was that at one point when I asked about ingredients, she jumped at me and said, "these are proper Indian spices and ingredients, we bring them in from England" ...and she was deadly serious!