At a table kitty-corner from mine, a father and daughter share mango ice cream and gulabjamin – warm little fritters soaking in sugar syrup. Behind me, a couple of college students dip their naan in mint chutney, taking voluminous bites and planning a second siege on the buffet table. A woman sits alone, calmly sipping creamy masala tea, one hand resting on the table, burgundy linen topped with clear Plexiglas.
An Indian restaurant without an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet is all but unheard of in Milwaukee. Our quantity-conscious bellies demand it. The East Side’s Mayura Indian Restaurant– a sibling to Brookfield’s Taste of India – has joined the majority, filling up its long buffet table with more than 25 labeled dishes on weekdays ($8.95), 30-plus items on the weekends ($9.95). For variety and quality, the spread at Mayura (the Sanskrit word for “peacock”) has the market cornered, at least on the East Side. If I do a buffet, I try to hit it as early as possible to get the freshest selection. That rule applies here. Once I’ve joined the queue, I pick and choose amongst the samosas (stuffed, fried pastries), butter chicken, lamb biryani, fish vindaloo, kadahi gosht (goat), aloo gobhi (a cauliflower/potato dish) and many others.
Not everyone does jumping jacks at the prospect of serve-yourself grub inside a warm chafing dish, but it can work as a marketing tool for an ethnic restaurant. Are you intrigued by goat, but not enough to order it off the menu? Sample it on the buffet. (Caveat: Though I like the strong flavor– similar to lamb, but more assertive – I’ve needed to drench my hunks of bone-in goat in the cool yogurt raita sauce to combat their dryness. The lamb, which I’ve had in various dishes, has been far more tender – especially good with mashed eggplant, $13.95.)
Sometimes when I talk about Indian food, I meet a worried face. “That stuff is hot, right?” someone will say. Yes and no. Increasingly, I find that some ethnic restaurants will simply keep the temperature level mild, assuming it’s what American diners want. The medium that I prefer has what feels in the beginning like a mild chile heat. But it builds with each bite until my mouth is buzzing. Beyond heat, Mayura’s food, by and large, is seasoned with an assured hand – the sweet-pungent pop of onion, garlic and ginger scattered inside the Mayura
“special” naan, a flaky, soft flatbread ($3.95); and the delicate curried hum of the grandly rich butter chicken ($12.95). The vindaloo – a penetrating dark-red curry – breathes danger, but only if you order it “hot” (available with chicken or fish, $13.95). Served mild, the vindaloo whispers its complex melange of chile, coriander, cinnamon and other spices.
I’m an optimist when it comes to gulabjamin, always hoping for the best – for my spoon to pop into a soft and spongy little fried ball, with not a trace of the hardness of a pastry past its prime. I’ve tasted the reward of gulabjamin optimism here. But unlike the father and daughter seated kitty-corner from me, I’m not willing to share.
Mayura Indian Restaurant, 1958-62 N. Farwell Ave., 414-271-8200. Hours: Daily lunch buffet 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. D Sun-Thurs 5-10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 5-10:30 p.m. Prices: appetizers $2.95-$11.95; soup and salad $3.50-$4.50; breads $1.95-$3.95; entrées $9.95-$17.95; desserts $4-$4.50. Credit cards: M V A DS. Dress: nothing too fancy. Smoke free. Handicap access: Ask for assistance. Reservations: not necessary.
