On the list of "Sam's Most Frequented Food Carts While Toiling Away as a Grad Student," Lovash occupies the #1 spot by a wide margin. So needless to say, I was very excited to finally make it to their restaurant.
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| mmm papadum |
Sandya arrived first and had a large table ready and waiting for when the rest of us arrived - we got a good group of people to join. I don't make it to the food truck any more, but one of our fellow dinner guests Kelly gets lunch from there quite a bit. Which became even more obvious when our waiter recognized her from earlier in the day - guess she forgot about our dinner plans! But we were finally able to put a name to the face that serves lunch at the cart almost every day - Atul. He must work pretty crazy hours, serving lunch at the cart and then waiting on tables for dinner. But it was nice to finally have a formal introduction, and we spent much of the dinner chatting with Atul and getting to know him a little better. Turns out when he lives in San Francisco he once helped Maya Angelou in his shop... pretty great encounter!
The door to the restaurant is a little misleading, so it might take you a few extra seconds to get inside (like it did for me). It's a medium-sized restaurant with a few different rooms, several tables, and a small bar. While using the bathroom later in the evening, I did see that there's a party room on the second floor as well. The decor was pretty standard, although we did have a running fountain above our table that was a little leaky and soaked my jacket a bit... but it was hard to be too upset in the spirit of the evening.
While waiting for the remainder of our party to arrive, we ordered some appetizers. The restaurant, not surprisingly, has a much larger menu than the food cart. Tandoori chicken samosas and beef shish kebob, as well as some papadum on the house. I really enjoyed the samosas and while I didn't have any of the beef, I had some of the accompanying vegetables and they were also great - well seasoned and spicy (in the sense that they were well spiced). I love papadum - it's a thin crispy wafer made from lentils or other flour. These ones were pretty tasty - not the best I've had but definitely snackable. I think I ate the most out of anyone... sorry guys.
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| butter chicken |
Once Doug arrived, we decided to each order our own meal but share the love by passing our dishes around, minus Steph who is limited in what she can eat due to Celiacs. Luckily for her, they had a small South Indian menu that included
dosas. As I recently learned on our excursion to our friend Lee's wedding, Steph is a big fan of said dish, which I agree are totally delicious. Unluckily for Steph, they did not have any dosa batter made. Such is life. Not limited in my food choices, I went with butter chicken, one of the house specials. We had a spattering of all kinds of food - lamb chettinad, coondapur chicken curry, and mushroom vindaloo, just to name a few. We also ordered several breads - naan, garlic naan, and onion kulcha to go along with our meals. Service was swift and we were quickly eating our main meals. I ventured out on a limb and ordered my meal at the medium spicy level, which I think was a good choice. It was a bit hot, but it really brought the spices and flavors out. The creaminess of the sauce paired well with the tender chicken, and the accompanying bread was perfect for scooping up food. Most people agreed that Sandya's dish - the coondapur curry chicken - was the best, and while I thought hers tasted great, I liked mine just as much. I had also ordered a spiced Indian tea, and it was pleasant with its additional spices added, but not the best cup of tea I've ever had. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill though.
By the end of our meals, we were completely full with no room for dessert, but we lingered a bit and chatted amongst ourselves and with Atul. It was a wonderful evening full of friends, great food and conversation. I'm happy to report that Lovash's restaurant is just as good as the food cart, and I'd definitely return in the future for another meal.
Lovash Indian Restaurant & Bar
236 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 925-3881
While waiting for the remainder of our party to arrive, we ordered some appetizers. The restaurant, not surprisingly, has a much larger menu than the food cart. Tandoori chicken samosas and beef shish kebob, as well as some papadum on the house. I really enjoyed the samosas and while I didn't have any of the beef, I had some of the accompanying vegetables and they were also great - well seasoned and spicy (in the sense that they were well spiced). I love papadum - it's a thin crispy wafer made from lentils or other flour. These ones were pretty tasty - not the best I've had but definitely snackable. I think I ate the most out of anyone... sorry guys.
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