Review: India Palace West in Hazelwood

For at least two decades, St. Louis has boasted a most unusual trifecta – a fine Indian restaurant atop an out-of-the way Howard Johnson motel without fried clams or 28 flavors of ice cream, but with a splendid view of the comings and goings of airplanes at Lambert Field.

One hates to say it's the sort of thing that would happen "only in St. Louis," but it seems as if only in St. Louis does it occur.

And now it's improved. White-knuckle fliers can eat the same well-spiced, superior fare right on ground level at India Palace West, a few blocks west of the intersection of Manchester and Woods Mill roads. Twice as many places offer twice the opportunities to dine well on well-prepared Indian cuisine.

Prices are moderate, with most entrees in the $15 range, and all are in generous amounts.

Opened only three months ago, the quiet, rather plain establishment has an advantage in that the recipes and many of the dishes are identical to those in Bridgeton. The same menu is in place, too. Servers are excellent, even if they sometimes seem to be slightly aloof, but they happily explain the menu and appear to understand the terminology. A request for "Indian medium" spicing drew a smile on one visit.

Like most Asian restaurants, India Palace offers to adjust spicing, but occasional language difficulties in can add their own interpretation. For example, Indian medium is considerably hotter than American medium, or so we have discovered. But we prefer it that way.

India Palace also has a large and outstanding vegetarian selection; were the Guru a vegetarian this might be his favorite restaurant. He's a great fan of eggplant, and the restaurant's tandoori eggplant, baked with herbs and spices, is superior, with the rather bland flavor and texture of the eggplant standing up well to a generous hand with spices. The other eggplant dish (aloo baingan) is prepared in a spicy gravy with potatoes, and cauliflower replaces eggplant for aloo gobi. The restaurant makes its own farmer cheese (similar to cottage cheese but firmer) called panner and combines it with peas or with spinach. Mushrooms, another of the Guru's favorite vegetables, mixes well with peas in a spicy, creamy gravy, and India Palace West's chefs also do interesting and tasty dishes with lentils and chickpeas.

Dining at the India Palace takes a little time; it appears that most dishes are cooked to order, or so their sparkling flavors and spicing lead one to believe.

There is no pork on the menu, but goat is a popular choice on the Indian sub-continent, with an entree described as "goat pickles," a magnificent stew-type dish with lean, tender, goat meat well marinated and cooked with a variety of spices and herbs. The meat had been slow-cooked for a long time, and its texture was similar to that of good Memphis-style pulled pork, or of a long-cooked beef brisket.

Much of the same held true for rogan josh, or lamb curry, with lean, tender, delicious lamb with tasty rice and some superior mango chutney. Cutney makes for a fine side dish, as does the yogurt-based raita, which also includes some cucumber slices.

Speaking of rice, an entree of shrimp biryani was superior. Tasty saffron rice was served with shrimp that were juicy, delicious and perfectly cooked, and the traditional presence of cashews, almonds and raisins added some amazing flavors and textures. The sweetness of the raisins, for example, was a bright burst of flavor among the spicing of the rice. It's not a hot-spicy dish, and might be a good introduction to someone just beginning to sample the cuisine of India.

Appetizers included tangy mulligatawny soup, served piping hot, its aroma hearty with saffron and other Indian spices. Rich chicken stock, celery and other vegetables made it a splendid beginning for a chilly night. Vegetable samosas, the pyramid-shaped, chickpea-battered, spicy peas and potatoes are filling and show hints of cardamom and pepper.

Best of all, however, was the Bombay fish, marinated and spiced sea bass fillets that had been coated in a light batter and then quickly fried. The batter was hot and not greasy, but delicious, and the fish itself had picked up a variety of flavors from the herbs and spices of the marinade. It's the most expensive of the appetizers, at $6.50, but an order is rich enough to be sufficient for two to share.

Light, crisp, tangy pappadum, made with lentil flour, fried crisp and dry, and served with delicious red and green dipping sauces, comes to the table immediately, and the heavier nan and paratha, both leavened and sometimes stuffed with onions, or potatoes, spinach, cheese or even a meat mixture called keema, are outstanding, warm and fresh, and a nan stuffed with onions and some fragrant herbs was a winner.

Both American and Indian beer, and a handful of wines, are available. Interestingly, Kingfisher, the best-known Indian beer for many years, is now made in Saratoga, N.Y. We sampled Taj Mahal, in a 22-ounce bottle, made in India and on the light side, but with good flavor.

Dessert choices include saffron rice pudding, cheese balls, tasty milk balls known as gulab jamun and the always tasty pistachio ice cream. Most of the time, however, the Guru prefers mango lassi, a rich and delicious mango-yogurt milk shake that always sends him away smiling.