Pasand
2.6667/5 (1 review)
2600 N. Belt Line Road
Irving, TX 75062
(972) 594-0693
Category: indian
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1 Reviews
REVIEW #1
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Rodney S.
Avg. Entree: $5-10
Rating:
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January 30, 2002
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0 people found this review helpful
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This is a review of Pasand as appeared in the Guide.
I have visited this resturant and it is one of my favorites. A must
for all Indian cuisine fans.
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By WALTRINA STOVALL
Irving's Pasand, in Grande Center just off Airport Freeway,
hasn't had the same jump-start as the one in Richardson. But it
celebrates its one-year anniversary Feb. 24, 2001, and judging
by the crowd on a recent visit, it is drawing a diverse group of
diners.
The restaurant is more attractive than its Richardson sibling,
with an almost elegant black and white décor and deco-style lighting
fixtures. Add subdued background music and quietly attentive
service, and it is worthy of a special-occasion visit. But the
food is so good, you won't want to limit your visits to red-letter
days.
Both south and north Indian dishes are represented on the menu.
The southern dishes, particularly the dosas (crepes) and rice-and-lentil-based
pastries, are harder to find here. Those familiar with the cuisine
can order their favorites any time; if you're a novice, for a good
introduction, go for a weekend lunch.
Pasand offers a lunch buffet daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
for $6.95 weekdays and $1 more Saturdays, but the spread always
includes masala dosas. Masala dosa ($4.25 if ordered from the
menu) is a huge ultrathin and crispy crepe rolled around a vegetable
curry that might be described as a warm, tangy potato salad. It
is about the size of a football, and you might be puzzled as how
best to tackle it.
Most people start by breaking off outside pieces of the crepe,
dipping them in mint chutney or sambar, a spicy lentil-coconut
soup (also on the weekend buffets; $1.50 a la carte). When they
get down to the potato filling, they scoop it up in pieces of crepe,
too.
Idli, small steamed rice cakes that are dipped into sambar, are
also on the weekend buffets.
Other times, consider the menu's Andhra special combo ($5.50),
which offers two idli, two deep-fried pastries called vada,
and upma, a spicy cream-of-wheat-based dish. Those who know
their dosas will find various varieties of these stuffed crepes
listed, as well as a Pasand combo ($5.45) of idli and masala dosa
with sambar soup.
Always on the buffet, weekday or weekend, is tandoori chicken
($7.45 a la carte) marinated in a spicy sauce and roasted to a scarlet
hue in the super-hot tandoor oven. Other times, you can try tandoori
prawns or lamb, but - in keeping with Indian culture - Pasand doesn't
serve beef.
Other buffet choices vary from week to week. On my visit, meat
dishes included a boneless chicken curry and one of decidedly
bony but delicious goat. Among vegetarian offerings were a mildly
seasoned okra-tomato curry and a spicy sauté of something called
"baby root." The starchy-sweet vegetable, similar to parsnips,
was so tasty we went back for seconds.
Also on the spread: crisp papadum wafers; lacy spinach pakoras
(rather like a cross between Southern fritters and Japanese
tempura); some tiny, nicely spiced fried lentil patties; rice
pilaf; a fiercely hot tamarind-based soup; fresh raw vegetables;
and a wonderful hot-crisp pickle mixture. Desserts were rice
pudding and a thin custard strewn with whole white grapes and
crisp red apple slices.
No alcoholic beverages are sold, but you can take your own beer
(a good match for Indian food) or wine. Starbucks regulars will
want to try Madras special coffee ($1), which is frothy with steamed
milk. Chai, the spicy Indian tea, is also $1. Cold beverages include
sweet yogurt-based lassies ($1.50) and mango shakes ($2.50).
As it begins its second year in Irving, Pasand is planning a small
upgrade. Look for a few new menu items and bigger weekend spreads.
Set to become a staple is the north Indian favorite, bhel poori,
a tame-appearing mixture of wheat wafers, puffed rice and potato
set ablaze by a spicy mint sauce.
Pasand itself should become a staple with area restaurantgoers,
for its variety, value and fair prices.
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