MemSahib |
|
| 400 W. Lexington St. | |
| Lexington Market | |
| Baltimore, MD 21201 | |
| 410-576-7777 | |
|
Hours:
Monday - Friday: 11:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m. Tuesday- Saturday: 5:30 p.m. -9 p.m. | |
| What's nearby: | |
By Elizabeth Large
Sun Restaurant Critic
Originally published on December 3, 2006
A source whose opinion I trust told me MemSahib was the best Indian restaurant in Baltimore. This surprised me, because Baltimore has a number of very good Indian restaurants.
Even more surprising is the fact that any sit-down restaurant with a liquor license has managed to hang on in this location -- the Lexington Market -- for more than three years. MemSahib does it by having a thriving lunch business, drawn by an all-you-can-eat buffet for $6.95.
This month, our waitress told us, owner/chef Ron Tuli is planning renovations and changes (like a belly dancer) to attract more customers at night. (It's sad to think a belly dancer could lure people in when a great butter chicken can't.) Everyman Theatre's recently announced move down the street won't hurt either.
Until those changes happen, MemSahib can be a lonely place at dinnertime. I'm not sure why. Parking is easy; there's a free lot right next door. And while I'm not prepared to say that MemSahib has the best Indian food in Baltimore, it's pretty darn good. If nothing else, you'd think some of the people who live in the nearby Centerpoint project could be found there on a weeknight, enjoying the $20, three-course prix fixe dinner, or taking out a few samosas. But we were MemSahib's only customers the night we were there.
The high-ceilinged, multi-level space is due to be renovated so it's not fair to judge it, but the dining room does seem ready for some sprucing up. The huge flat-panel TV, with its endless loop of romantic Indian music videos, will probably still be around unfortunately. Right now the seating is comfortable and, of course, the place is fairly noise-free, given that no one is there. Both those count for something.
The dinner menu is extremely limited. For instance, there's one appetizer: a couple of small, hot, crisply fried samosas stuffed with potatoes and peas and fragrant with coriander. The chef, however, is willing to fix something else if you ask. We did, and our second appetizer turned out to be skewered cubes of paneer (a homemade cheese similar to fresh mozzarella) cooked in a tandoor clay oven so they had a crusty edge.
The rest of the menu is pared down to the bare bones of user-friendly Indian cuisine, if that's not too many metaphors for one sentence.
Vegetarians, who are used to having nothing much to choose from, will be pleased to find that there are more vegetarian dishes (four) than meat dishes (three) among the entrees. The mattar paneer, peas and cubes of cheese in a masterful sauce, deserves special mention; but the gingery potatoes and cauliflower and complexly spiced yellow lentils are also fine.
The lamb in an intense and nuanced curry sauce interested me less: The lamb was tender enough, but it didn't have the moist flavorfulness of the chicken makhani. The chicken, marinated and baked in the tandoor oven, luxuriated in an elegantly spiced tomato and cream sauce.
MemSahib's breads are spectacular. Naan, baked in the tandoor oven and served deliciously warm, was both puffier and denser than usual. Bhatura, which is deep-fried, was grease-free, fluffy and soft.
MemSahib's one dessert was a very sweet, almond-scented rice pudding. I'd just as soon end the meal with the restaurant's masala chai, tea made with milk, sugar and spices.
At the moment, dinner at MemSahib is tantalizing. The menu is so limited it just hints at what the kitchen is capable of. I'd like to see what Chef Tuli can do if he ever has an audience for his artistry.
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elizabeth.large@baltsun.com
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Ratings:
Food: ***
Service: ***
Atmosphere: **
Rating system: Outstanding: ****; Good ***; Fair or uneven **; Poor *
