Nawab

Two years ago, I wouldn't have even considered eating at a restaurant that served indian food. I didn't like the smell of most indian food and figured everything would be spicy and bizarre, and I had no interest in trying it. I also thought they used different kinds of meat, which scared me off. Fortunately, the past two years have exposed me to cultures and food from around the world, and I've been able to expand my tastes and become more adventurous. When it comes to indian cuisine, I've learned about the different types of curry, the incredible variety of spices and seasonings they use, the unique cooking style with many of their dishes, their varying levels of spicy-ness, and the creative dishes and combinations they put together. We had excellent indian food during our time in South Africa, so we decided we'd have to check out Nawab once we came back to Roanoke.

Nawab is located in downtown Roanoke on Campbell Avenue and it has been there for a number of years. I had previously heard good things, but I was too afraid to try it - until yesterday! I went to lunch with Nicole and my dad and I was very impressed. They have a regular menu, but they also serve a lunch buffet with a variety of dishes, which is what the three of us had.

Tandoori Chicken

The buffet isn't huge, but I felt like there was plenty to chose from - especially for the very reasonable price of $7.95. They offered two kinds of basmati rice, chicken curry, roasted tandoori chicken with peppers & onions, tandoori chicken with a creamy tomato sauce, korma curry, and a variety of vegetables that were prepared in different ways. There was a small salad bar, which also had fruit, chocolate mousse, & rice pudding. AND - they bring you a basket of garlic naan! I'm sure there are more appropriate names and descriptions of the food, but I'm not an expert and didn't really study the descriptions of the dishes. I was a huge fan of the curry and the two tandoori dishes. The curry and the tandoori with the cream sauce went great on top of the rice and the roasted chicken had a great skin and tasted like a really good rotisserie chicken. The garlic naan was delicious as well - and I particularly liked it with the tzatziki-like sauce (which was much better than the ranch dressing I accidentally got). I wasn't too fond of some of the vegetables (particularly the fried broccoli) or the rice pudding, but the chocolate mousse and orange slices served as a nice ending.

The service was very good and the atmosphere is cool. It's not the tacky Bollywood look that some Indian places have and there is plenty of space to handle busy crowds. As always with downtown restaurants, parking is a bit of an issue, but this is a good change of pace from many downtown Roanoke spots. And while I used to be a skeptic, I’ve now converted. The buffet at Nawab was worth a try and I look forward to going back to try dinner.