Sichuan Gourmet, Billerica, 7/10

Sichuan Gourmet, Billerica, MA
502 Boston Rd, Billerica, MA (978) 670-7339

Update 6/4/14:
By far one of the best Chinese places this side of town, frequented by many Chinese (indication) as well. Its not American Chinese (like P F Changs, which is nice, but Americanized), but good Sichuan food.

Lo mein - 7/10
Kung pao chicken 7/10
Shredded chicken with cayenne pepper 8/10

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Indian style lo mein ("chow mein" in India). The Chicken lo mein (or veggie lo mein) comes closest to it. Its not wet and sloppy like some Chinese restaurants. - 6/10
Shredded Chicken with Cayene Pepper - chicken with 50% hot peppers. Very nice. - 7/10. The item # is "J2" on the menu.

Paradise Biryani Pointe (aka Mysore Veggie)

Lowell, MA
(978) 677-7181

The old Mysore Veggie restaurant now serves Hyderabadi cuisine too.
Service is very slow, so I recommend ordering an hour ahead for take out.

Goat Pepper Fry - 9/10 - awesome! Goat pieces in a onion, black pepper & other spices. Very well made, well marinated, semi-dry appetizer, spicy and tasty. Hopefully the quality will be maintained.

Paradise Chicken - 6/10. Nice. Nothing to write home about. Dry appetizer. Sprinkled with sesame seeds. Looks like a relative of General Gao's Chicken :)

Goat Biryani - 6/10. This was supposed to be the high point of the 'Biryani' place, but was a let down. Not bad, but no great shakes either.

More to come...

Priya, Chelmsford, MA

Priya

1270 Westford St (Drumhill Rd)
Lowell, MA 01851
(978) 454-7777

Update 11/24/11: As with most Indian restaurants, the quality has gone downhill, and it has become yet another 'average' Indian restaurant.
11/11/11
Goat curry (buffet) 6/10 - the curry was tasty and the goat was cooked well. 
The rest of the buffet was average.


2010:

This replaced the earlier Kebab (which had gone downhill over the past year or so)

The food is much better, and I would definitely recommend trying it out.

Chicken 65 or 95 or something like that - 8/10. Very well done. The dry kind.

Biryani - 7/10

Lamb curry - 7/10

Mantra

Mantra
52 Temple Pl, Boston, MA
(617) 542-8111

Update 1/1/10

Custom ordered a few items from the menu (vs the lunch buffet)

Goat curry - 7/10, made well if you tell them exactly what you want and how you want it

Lamb boti kabab - be very specific on how you want it, they made it well, twice 7/10, and messed it up bad, once 4/10

Lamb seekh kabab - 7/10

Naan - specifically asked for the freshest ones from the tandoor and they obliged. 6/10. They could have been a bit fluffier.

The ambience of this place is worth mentioning. Mentioned. Decorated differently than the usual rows of chairs and tables.
They are a Indian buffet place by day and a fusion food place by night (which I heard is better than the day food).
The weekday buffet had:
Tandoori chicken (with a mint - aka "pudina" - marinate) - 6.5/10. This one was marinated well, with the flavor well below the surface of the chicken, unlike most other restaurants. But the food was not even moderately hot (otherwise this would have been a 7/10)
Chicken tikka masala - 6/10. This was nice too. Tasty, but not hot.
Chicken biryani - 4/10. The biryani was not worth it. No taste, utterly bland. Not even spicy.
Naan - 6/10. They made fresh naans, thinner than the usual Indian naans (kind of like the thin crust pizza at Dominos).
Paneer tikka masala - 5/10. Average.
Rice kheer - 6/10. Nice.
Heard that their vegetable "pakodas" (deep fried dumplings) were slightly on the raw side. They did make fresh "aaloo tikkis" onsite. They were ok.
Definitely better than the nearby Tantric Bar & Grill restaurant.

Rasoi
Trolly Square, 855 Worcester Rd, Framingham, MA
(508) 872-4060

Its been a while since I ate there. I remember it was not anything to remember about. Else I would have remembered. :)
The food was ok overall. 5/10

Kebab Factory
414 Washington St, Somerville, MA
(617) 354-4996


Here's the deal with this place. I heard you should ensure that the "Sardarji" is cooking when you eat there, and maybe even call him out and tell him that you want authentic Indian food. Then the stuff is good. A trusted source of mine knows how to get the best out of this place.

Kali mirch ka murga - 7/10
Lamb seekh kabab - 6/10

At another time (no Sardarji in the kitchen), I got some chicken wings like stuff, in a hot copper pot, inverted on a plate (I forget the name of the dish), which was hopeless - like having the usual American chicken wings.

Cafe Goa
175 Littleton Rd, Westford, MA
(978) 399-0009

Garlic chicken - 5/10, the gravy was ok, the chicken was squishy and flavorless
The "jalebees" were average like most Indian restaurants/stores - beggars can be choosers - you dont have to eat them.
Why can't they make jalebees like India here?

Penang, Boston, MA
685 Washington St, Boston, MA (617) 451-6373
There is one here too (this is a chain)
57 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA (617) 234-3989

Curried chicken with rice - the closest you can come to Kerala style chicken curry (with coconut) in this area. Very nice, not spicy. Not boneless. - 8/10.
Roti kanai - dont miss this one. Hand tossed (similar to "roomali roti") and deep fried. Their most popular appetizer - 8/10.

Saffron, Boston, MA
279 Newbury St, Boston, MA (617) 262-4398

Okra lasagna - 3/10. Couldnt eat it. Okra was almost raw.
Chicken something - couldnt eat it either (thats rare) - 4/10.
They tried to make fusion food, but it tastes more like something thats lost in translation.

Shahnawaz Grill, Iselin, NJ

Shahnawaz Grill, Iselin, NJ
1380 Oak Tree Rd, Iselin, NJ 08830 732-283-2257

12/31/08 update

The place has been renovated this year, but the food seems to have taken a hit.

Chicken Tikka - 6/10. 

Chicken Shami kabab - 4/10. This was pretty bad. It stank and tasted like spoilt daal (lentil).

Goat biryani - 6/10. Tasty, but needed more biryani flavor and a better goat

Goat curry - 6/10. 

Lamb seekh kabab - 6/10. Needed more spices and flavor.

Jalebi - 6/10. These were the red ones (vs the yellow ones - just a color technicality), but made in oil (vs ghee - those are the best). 

One of the best non-veg Indian restaurants on Oak Tree Rd in Iselin, NJ (Moghul - which the locals say is the best restaurant there, is not a targeted non-veg place. Shahnawaz is a carnivore's paradise :) The food has flavor, different curried items actually taste different.
Sample platter (different types of kababs and meat chunks) - 7/10
Lamb biryani - 7/10
Chicken seekh kabab - 6/10
Lamb seekh kabab - 7/10