If you are near downtown Albany and have taste for filling
ethnic cuisine then head over to the Curry House on 1112 Madison Avenue. The Curry House is a quant Indian-Pakistani restaurant stationed in between local
bars and bagel eateries. When I made the decision to eat at the Curry House, my
interest was specifically because I know I would eating something well-seasoned,
healthy and of course different. Most Indian or Pakistani ethnic based
restaurants in the area are either too far away to appeal to local patron, too
expensive for quick eat-and-dine, or they just don’t exist. The Capital Region
is diverse area, but ethnic eateries that aren’t Chinese-American restaurants
are completely outnumbered because of the “easy and recognizable” food
interests of most of the consumers.
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| The Curry House, 1112 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY. |
Deciding to eat at the Curry House over the nearby Subway, I
entered the restaurant. The seating locations, although few, are set up in a
banquet fashion to encourage a comfortable eat-in experience or in my case wait
while you take-out. Upon entering I was greeted by two employees at the Curry
House, one whom I presumed to be the waiter and another cashier. I was given a laminated menu of the specialties
dishes, and also told about one of the meals that were a favorite amongst the
traditional college student population: the shrimp curry and the salmon curry.
Since I don’t eat shrimp, and was not in the mood for fish I graciously declined,
and was directed to order food mostly on from the vegetarian specials.
I admit I was tempted to order a dish I was most familiar
with, aloo chana. That dish is a curried stew of potatoes (aloo) and chickpeas/garbanzo
peas (chana). Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, many of the local ethnic restaurants
had their own national spin on the dish and it is the usual recommended go to
for people trying Indian cuisine. Living in the moment however, I instead
ordered the vegetable biryani because it was simple enough to experiment and
would be my introduction to basmati rice.
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| A typical plate of vegetable biryani, a dish available at the Curry House. |
Waiting for my vegetable biryani took about fifteen minutes.
While I waited I was offered complimentary naan bread to snack on. The naan was
freshly baked and unfortunately for me filled me up too quickly that I
ultimately decided to have my main meal to go, I’m a very busy so I try to eat
when I can! Although I didn’t get a chance to enjoy my vegetable biryani in the
comfortable atmosphere of the Curry House, I did believe I had an eating
experience that many foodies can appreciate. The rice was well cooked, not mushy
and soft but still not hard and unprepared. The herbs used to season the dish
were fresh, included a sprig of thyme on the side (I love thyme). The vegetables
included in this variation of the dish were carrots, peas and tomatoes, all
which tasted fresh not from can or frozen packaging.
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| A typical plate of naan. This oven fresh bread was a complimentary side offered to me at the Curry House. |
I recommended eating at the Curry House, especially if you
want an affordable introduction to ethnic food and especially if you want a
variation from the pizza/bagel or Chinese-American restaurants all over
downtown Albany. The meal cost around $15, calculating the cost of the
vegetable biryani ~$11 and a beverage. The naan was free.
