I was pretty skeptical pulling up to Sitar because the mere thought of good Indian food in Knoxville just wasn't adding up in my head. After all, I used to live next to a giant Indian mecca right outside Atlanta, so this meal was either going to really really great, or really forgetable. Thankfully, I made it out of my car, past the front door and into a chair, because this meal played out perfectly; like one of those cool dance scenes in a 60's Bollywood movie.
It kinda went like this: BOOM! The music started <enter wait staff stage right>, then the spot light hits me <enter drink order here>, then a plate of mixed Tandori treats arrives <start heavy drooling..NOW!>, and Scene. A Blockbuster Overseas.
I couldn't even pretend. I was right in the thick of it, my eyes were swirling. I was overwhelmed with exotic Indian mouth-flavor delights. I was only an appetizer and an ice water in, and I was sold- this food was amazing! Unfortunately, I quickly found myself in no mood to try to decide what entree to get, I was completely focused on how good my mouth tasted. But, thankfully my hubby (Best supporting actor in this role) made a quick suggestion of trying a vegetarian, chicken and a chef speciality. Good call hubby, good call. Now, I'm not going to pretend I didn't order the Chicken Tikka Masala. I always order it. Anywhere I go, I order it. I love to taste different interpretations of it, because it's ALWAYS good. And Sitar's was some of the best I'd ever had. It was spicy and creamy and as dreamy as ever: the rice was perfectly spiced to boot, and there was plenty of it. Now, the vegetarian dish (Allo Gohbi: Curried Cauliflower and po's) was actually my second favorite of the three. I'll start this by saying, it's hard for me to enjoy cauliflower out of my house- it's never cooked right, it always a little well, 'farty' to me. Not this though. It was sweet and soft and melted perfectly into the electric yellow/green curry sauce. Crisis Averted.
The Chef Speciality dish (Chicken Karahai : A special gravy with onions, tomatoes and bell pepper; tossed in Indian iron skillet) was the by far the winner of the Indian Cuisine trilogy that was last Thursday night's dinner. In all honesty,it was the most delicious and flavorful silver boat of Indian fare that I have ever eaten. Each spice was subtle enough to not over power the next, but was also so gleamingly apparent that my mouth felt like the Bollywood dance scenes were starting to happen each time I took another bite. It never got old.
There is no doubt that this restaurant experience carried me well beyond it's East Tennessee location. The service was perfect (Either the manager or owner came over to talk with us for a few minutes and thanked us for coming in-totally nice!), and the prices were right on point for portion size and quality. Go eat there already. I'm getting hungry just reliving this.
Check out their menu/site here.
Colleen yummy food rating 5/5.
This is my very favorite place for Indian food, not that Knoxville has a lot of choices. The Metro Pulse usually has a BOGO coupon which is always helpful.
ReplyDeleteThey did receive a dreadfully low food score this week though, I hope they CLEAN it up!