Tikka Trip to India in Sacramento

I've already raved about Dine Downtown week, but another plus to that annual event is that the Sacramento Downtown Partnership ran a contest for a $50 gift certificate to one of the participating restaurants. I was lucky enough to win a certificate for Gaylord India Restaurant. I like Indian food, but I rarely crave Indian food, so the free meal really got me in the door.

The first Gaylord opened in New Delhi, India in 1946 and today there are locations in Chicago, San Francisco, Sausalito, Menlo Park, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas and our little Sacramento.

The menu is really extensive and Carolyn and I were a little overwhelmed by all the choices. With our servers help, we decided on one of their "Tasting Menus," which gives you a sample of about five items, plus soup, naan and dessert. The one we chose, a combination of curries and tandoori, was $25 for both of us. It's hard to describe the flavors of Indian food -- they use lots of different spices, but spicy really isn't accurate. Pungent? Aromatic? Yummy works.

We started with some garlic naan and then a cup of Mulligatawny soup, which is a lemony lentil soup. Then our server brought out a sizzling plate of tandoori chicken and lamb kabobs on a pile of roasted onions. The chicken was delicious and despite being on the bone (a major hang up for me) I ate the whole piece. The lamb was flavorful and tender. That dish was followed by a plate of scented basmati rice, chicken tikka masala (chicken simmered in saffron, fennel tomato sauce) and sag paneer (Indian farmer's cheese in a spinach and garlic puree). Our server said the tikka masala was their most popular dish and I understand why. We both loved it and ended up using the remaining sauce for dipping naan and smothering rice.

Dessert was included and the choices included cheesecake with mango sauce, kulfi (a saffron infused ice cream in both pistachio and mango flavor), rice pudding and two cheese-centric options. Since we didn't love the farmer's cheese in the sag paneer, we opted for the rice pudding or kheer. It was more of a rice soup -- a thin "broth" with rice and pistachios. It wasn't at all what I expected for rice pudding, but it was very tasty. At this point we were both too full anyway so we had more of a taste of dessert than a full course.

Overall, the meal was great -- we cleaned most of the plates! -- and at the risk of sounding cheesy, kind of an adventure for the palate. These aren't tastes you find everyday and it was fun to explore them.

Gaylord also has a full bar. I started with a pomegranite gimlet and Carolyn had a mojito. Once we started on the spicy stuff, Taj Mahal (an Indian beer, natch) was a great compliment to the meal.

Check out the menu for yourself: http://www.gaylords.com/dinner_menu.html. The chicken tikka masala alone is worth a return visit. Plus, Gaylord has a lunch menu too and it's location makes it perfect for the downtown worker.

Gaylord is located at 1501 14th Street in Sacramento. (916) 441-6700