Mixed experience at Spice India

Thanks to all who have posted comments about their dining experience at India Spice. I recently visited the restaurant to sample the buffet, a staple of most everyday Indian restaurants. Suffice it to say, my experience mirrored the mixed collective opinion of posters.

First, the good. The buffet included a chick pea salad that was outstanding with finely chopped vegetables and cilantro amid a lemony dressing. It was fresh and worthy of seconds. A spinach dish akin to Palak Paneer was savory and dense. Two types of rice (basmati and lemon) and two styles of dal provided ample opportunity for experimentation. Large metal skillets contained sizzling tandoori chicken and vegetarian dish. Both were average, though the presentation was impressive.

Now the bad: comments about undercooked chicken were validated with the aloo kashmir. I tried a piece of the dish and found it incredibly and unnaturally tender—to the point I could not distinguish the meat as chicken. I noticed pink remaining in the meat. Other chicken in the chafing dish was also pink. Meanwhile, an eggplant entrée was covered with a prominent, unappetizing layer of grease — which is too bad, as Indian cuisine can do remarkable things with eggplant.

In the end, there’s no excuse for undercooking chicken — especially when it is visibly pink in the serving dish. No number of positives can make up for this transgression. If you choose to go, you would be wise to tell your waiter to make sure the chef cooks the chicken. (Excuse me, can you please tell the kitchen staff not to give me food poisoning?)

A final note: the place was jammed on a Friday. A line formed at the front door. People waited up to 15 minutes for a table. Let’s hope the management and kitchen staff start embracing proper food preparation techniques so we can keep another Indian option available in the Lehigh Valley.