Indian food in Squirrel Hill: Coriander
Coriander is an
Indian restaurant in Squirrel Hill that opened last fall. We finally
tried them a month or so ago for the Sunday buffet and I was impressed.
I've since been there for lunch once more and hope to try them for
dinner sometime. (And more Sundays. And maybe the occasional group
take-out order from work. You get the idea. You can play along too,
you know. Well, if you're local.)
The buffet ($8.95) has a nice spread of both meat and vegetarian dishes, along with soups, nan, chutneys, and desserts, which they keep well-stocked (I never saw an empty pan) and at appropriate temperatures. I couldn't actually find some of what I ate at the buffet on the menu on their web site, which makes me think they may be trying out new dishes or making things that are seasonal (so they don't want to put them on the print menu). Pure speculation; I didn't think to ask.
The standards are there, of course -- tandoori chicken, chana masala, some paneer, some potato dish, etc. Noticably absent both times were lentils; I thought dal was a fixture of Indian restaurants. (Though I didn't investigate the soups; it's been a hot summer.) The first time I went they had papadun (those thin wafers, one of my favorites); the second time they didn't. Both times they also had some sort of tasty vegetable fritters that I didn't recognize. The menu has one section titled "South India", which makes me wonder if the rest is from the north. (I don't know what characterizes the difference, but you might so I mention it.)
The flavors were nicely balanced with the spicier dishes being spicy but not overwhelming and the mild dishes being mild the way they're supposed to be. I didn't encounter anything hot other than one chutney (which was so-labelled). I'm used to chana masala (that's the dish with chickpeas and spices in a tomato-based sauce) being kind of bland, but theirs is nicely flavored and the chickpeas are not overcooked the way they sometimes are. The nan (flatbread) was tasty with and without the various chutneys (all the standard ones were there).
The rice pudding (first visit) was so-so. The vanilla custard (second visit) was excellent (though I wondered if it should be a little thicker). I have yet to see those cheese balls in syrup that are oh so addictive and probably terrible for me. :-)
The challenge of a buffet, often, is getting drinks refilled, since the waiters aren't coming by to bring you food on a regular basis. Both times I found the service to be attentive; I never ran out of water and plates got cleared away mostly invisibly (while I was at the buffet).
Someday I'll presumably order from the menu and be able to talk about that experience, but when the buffet is an option I'm likely to always prefer that for the variety.
The buffet ($8.95) has a nice spread of both meat and vegetarian dishes, along with soups, nan, chutneys, and desserts, which they keep well-stocked (I never saw an empty pan) and at appropriate temperatures. I couldn't actually find some of what I ate at the buffet on the menu on their web site, which makes me think they may be trying out new dishes or making things that are seasonal (so they don't want to put them on the print menu). Pure speculation; I didn't think to ask.
The standards are there, of course -- tandoori chicken, chana masala, some paneer, some potato dish, etc. Noticably absent both times were lentils; I thought dal was a fixture of Indian restaurants. (Though I didn't investigate the soups; it's been a hot summer.) The first time I went they had papadun (those thin wafers, one of my favorites); the second time they didn't. Both times they also had some sort of tasty vegetable fritters that I didn't recognize. The menu has one section titled "South India", which makes me wonder if the rest is from the north. (I don't know what characterizes the difference, but you might so I mention it.)
The flavors were nicely balanced with the spicier dishes being spicy but not overwhelming and the mild dishes being mild the way they're supposed to be. I didn't encounter anything hot other than one chutney (which was so-labelled). I'm used to chana masala (that's the dish with chickpeas and spices in a tomato-based sauce) being kind of bland, but theirs is nicely flavored and the chickpeas are not overcooked the way they sometimes are. The nan (flatbread) was tasty with and without the various chutneys (all the standard ones were there).
The rice pudding (first visit) was so-so. The vanilla custard (second visit) was excellent (though I wondered if it should be a little thicker). I have yet to see those cheese balls in syrup that are oh so addictive and probably terrible for me. :-)
The challenge of a buffet, often, is getting drinks refilled, since the waiters aren't coming by to bring you food on a regular basis. Both times I found the service to be attentive; I never ran out of water and plates got cleared away mostly invisibly (while I was at the buffet).
Someday I'll presumably order from the menu and be able to talk about that experience, but when the buffet is an option I'm likely to always prefer that for the variety.