Guest guest Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Here's a nice review of my favorite Indian restaurant. What it doesn't tell you is that everything is vegan except for the raita. Laura --------------------------- http://www.accessatlanta.com/restaurants/content/restaurants/reviews/ 1204/30vatica.html SMALL WONDERS Vatica embraces a vegetarian, Indian-style By MERIDITH FORD The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 12/30/2004 " WE CAME BACK, " exclaim two young girls as they bolt past the front counter at Vatica and nestle into a booth. But owner Dhirajlal Vallabh appears to be far more interested in selling me a plastic to-go box of sugary, cardamom-scented besan halva, an Indian " fudge. " Then suddenly he quips, " Why did you come back? " and gives me a half-wink, nodding in their direction. He is like that. He spends much of his time in the front of the house joking with customers and seeing to it that they will want to come back. His wife, Sadhana, does most of the cooking. It is soulful, homestyle cooking that reflects his home state of Gujarat in the Northwest. India is larger than Europe and embraces five major faiths, but Americans tend to lump all Indian cooking into two broad categories: northern and southern. Gujarati cooking is primarily vegetarian, which is what is served at Vatica. The food here won't remind you of the dosai or idli of south India, nor will you think of tandoori anything while you are here. Instead, Vatica embraces the universal Indian concept of thali — a platter of food centered on rice and bread surrounded by lots of savory pots of goodies to dip and sup. And that is all. The menu changes daily, although you'll probably get much of the same dishes each time you go. Thali at lunch is $6.99. Thali at dinner is $8.99. There is no choice on your part, just on Sadhana and what she feels like cooking that day. Sometimes it will be thali with fluffy rice to pour a yogurt-and-chickpea curry laced with fresh cilantro over. Maybe there will be okra, lightly flavored with very little spice and cooked to a glorious mash. Perhaps instead of okra there will be green peppers, done the same. Always there will be puri, or perhaps roti, flatbreads fast from the griddle with tiny air puffs dotting their otherwise perfect surfaces. Use them to dip into the curry, or to clear your palate by dipping them into the fresh flavor of the cooling raita. Or just tear and eat them while they're still warm. And always there will be Sadhana's potatoes: part chunks, part mash, dotted with bits of black pepper and deceivingly hot and spicy. They are so rich, so comforting, so like home cooking. Most likely there will be dal of some sort, especially good when the pulses have been cooked to a perfect creaminess like a porridge, with just enough left whole to make the texture interesting. From underneath the glass on each table, a beautiful woman stares at you, often in bridal garb. She may be Punjabi, or maybe, like Vallabh, she is Gujarati. " They are my calendar girls, " says Vallabh with a smile. It's just about now during a meal that the lone waitress will wheel a dim sum-like cart by, squeaking wheels and all, loaded with replenishments of anything you want. Potatoes, of course, and more bread, please. And maybe just a bit more green peppers. " You a member of the club yet? " asks Vallabh, eyes twinkling. " What club? " I ask earnestly. " The 'I love Vatica' club, " laughs Vallabh as he brings a bit of the sweet halva from the counter for us to nibble. Oh, yes. I would say so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 is the youghurt vegan?? lotsa good indoan places round here..ya juat have to constantly ask if they use ghee .... morgaana Jan 1, 2005 4:54 PM vatica restaurant review atlanta Here's a nice review of my favorite Indian restaurant. What it doesn't tell you is that everything is vegan except for the raita. Laura --------------------------- http://www.accessatlanta.com/restaurants/content/restaurants/reviews/ 1204/30vatica.html SMALL WONDERS Vatica embraces a vegetarian, Indian-style By MERIDITH FORD The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 12/30/2004 " WE CAME BACK, " exclaim two young girls as they bolt past the front counter at Vatica and nestle into a booth. But owner Dhirajlal Vallabh appears to be far more interested in selling me a plastic to-go box of sugary, cardamom-scented besan halva, an Indian " fudge. " Then suddenly he quips, " Why did you come back? " and gives me a half-wink, nodding in their direction. He is like that. He spends much of his time in the front of the house joking with customers and seeing to it that they will want to come back. His wife, Sadhana, does most of the cooking. It is soulful, homestyle cooking that reflects his home state of Gujarat in the Northwest. India is larger than Europe and embraces five major faiths, but Americans tend to lump all Indian cooking into two broad categories: northern and southern. Gujarati cooking is primarily vegetarian, which is what is served at Vatica. The food here won't remind you of the dosai or idli of south India, nor will you think of tandoori anything while you are here. Instead, Vatica embraces the universal Indian concept of thali ? a platter of food centered on rice and bread surrounded by lots of savory pots of goodies to dip and sup. And that is all. The menu changes daily, although you'll probably get much of the same dishes each time you go. Thali at lunch is $6.99. Thali at dinner is $8.99. There is no choice on your part, just on Sadhana and what she feels like cooking that day. Sometimes it will be thali with fluffy rice to pour a yogurt-and-chickpea curry laced with fresh cilantro over. Maybe there will be okra, lightly flavored with very little spice and cooked to a glorious mash. Perhaps instead of okra there will be green peppers, done the same. Always there will be puri, or perhaps roti, flatbreads fast from the griddle with tiny air puffs dotting their otherwise perfect surfaces. Use them to dip into the curry, or to clear your palate by dipping them into the fresh flavor of the cooling raita. Or just tear and eat them while they're still warm. And always there will be Sadhana's potatoes: part chunks, part mash, dotted with bits of black pepper and deceivingly hot and spicy. They are so rich, so comforting, so like home cooking. Most likely there will be dal of some sort, especially good when the pulses have been cooked to a perfect creaminess like a porridge, with just enough left whole to make the texture interesting. From underneath the glass on each table, a beautiful woman stares at you, often in bridal garb. She may be Punjabi, or maybe, like Vallabh, she is Gujarati. " They are my calendar girls, " says Vallabh with a smile. It's just about now during a meal that the lone waitress will wheel a dim sum-like cart by, squeaking wheels and all, loaded with replenishments of anything you want. Potatoes, of course, and more bread, please. And maybe just a bit more green peppers. " You a member of the club yet? " asks Vallabh, eyes twinkling. " What club? " I ask earnestly. " The 'I love Vatica' club, " laughs Vallabh as he brings a bit of the sweet halva from the counter for us to nibble. Oh, yes. I would say so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 ah i had curry last nite sorta disaapointing tho...not very flavorful... sorta sad cuz the place we went use to be very very good, and now it just seems mediocre ah well everything changes cheers fraggle morgaana Jan 2, 2005 10:03 AM Re: vatica restaurant review atlanta No, they only serve the raita because people expect it. The owner himself is vegan. No ghee. I think the author pulled that yogurt & chickpea curry bit out of their ass, because none of the dishes have dairy. And the closest to creamy I've seen is a coconut curry they do every once in a while. Laura On Jan 2, 2005, at 12:37 PM, fraggle wrote: > is the youghurt vegan?? > lotsa good indoan places round here..ya juat have to constantly ask > if they use ghee .... > > > morgaana > Jan 1, 2005 4:54 PM > > vatica restaurant review atlanta > > Here's a nice review of my favorite Indian restaurant. What it > doesn't > tell you is that everything is vegan except for the raita. > > Laura > > > --------------------------- > http://www.accessatlanta.com/restaurants/content/restaurants/reviews/ > 1204/30vatica.html > > SMALL WONDERS > Vatica embraces a vegetarian, Indian-style > > By MERIDITH FORD > The Atlanta Journal-Constitution > Published on: 12/30/2004 > > " WE CAME BACK, " exclaim two young girls as they bolt past the front > counter at Vatica and nestle into a booth. > > But owner Dhirajlal Vallabh appears to be far more interested in > selling me a plastic to-go box of sugary, cardamom-scented besan > halva, > an Indian " fudge. " > > Then suddenly he quips, " Why did you come back? " and gives me a > half-wink, nodding in their direction. > > He is like that. He spends much of his time in the front of the house > joking with customers and seeing to it that they will want to come > back. His wife, Sadhana, does most of the cooking. It is soulful, > homestyle cooking that reflects his home state of Gujarat in the > Northwest. > > India is larger than Europe and embraces five major faiths, but > Americans tend to lump all Indian cooking into two broad categories: > northern and southern. Gujarati cooking is primarily vegetarian, > which > is what is served at Vatica. The food here won't remind you of the > dosai or idli of south India, nor will you think of tandoori anything > while you are here. > > Instead, Vatica embraces the universal Indian concept of thali ? a > platter of food centered on rice and bread surrounded by lots of > savory > pots of goodies to dip and sup. > > And that is all. The menu changes daily, although you'll probably get > much of the same dishes each time you go. Thali at lunch is $6.99. > Thali at dinner is $8.99. There is no choice on your part, just on > Sadhana and what she feels like cooking that day. > > Sometimes it will be thali with fluffy rice to pour a > yogurt-and-chickpea curry laced with fresh cilantro over. Maybe there > will be okra, lightly flavored with very little spice and cooked to a > glorious mash. Perhaps instead of okra there will be green peppers, > done the same. > > Always there will be puri, or perhaps roti, flatbreads fast from the > griddle with tiny air puffs dotting their otherwise perfect surfaces. > Use them to dip into the curry, or to clear your palate by dipping > them > into the fresh flavor of the cooling raita. Or just tear and eat them > while they're still warm. > > And always there will be Sadhana's potatoes: part chunks, part mash, > dotted with bits of black pepper and deceivingly hot and spicy. They > are so rich, so comforting, so like home cooking. > > Most likely there will be dal of some sort, especially good when the > pulses have been cooked to a perfect creaminess like a porridge, with > just enough left whole to make the texture interesting. > > From underneath the glass on each table, a beautiful woman stares at > you, often in bridal garb. She may be Punjabi, or maybe, like > Vallabh, > she is Gujarati. > > " They are my calendar girls, " says Vallabh with a smile. > > It's just about now during a meal that the lone waitress will wheel a > dim sum-like cart by, squeaking wheels and all, loaded with > replenishments of anything you want. > > Potatoes, of course, and more bread, please. And maybe just a bit > more > green peppers. > > " You a member of the club yet? " asks Vallabh, eyes twinkling. > > " What club? " I ask earnestly. > > " The 'I love Vatica' club, " laughs Vallabh as he brings a bit of the > sweet halva from the counter for us to nibble. > > Oh, yes. I would say so. > > > To send an email to - > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 No, they only serve the raita because people expect it. The owner himself is vegan. No ghee. I think the author pulled that yogurt & chickpea curry bit out of their ass, because none of the dishes have dairy. And the closest to creamy I've seen is a coconut curry they do every once in a while. Laura On Jan 2, 2005, at 12:37 PM, fraggle wrote: > is the youghurt vegan?? > lotsa good indoan places round here..ya juat have to constantly ask > if they use ghee .... > > > morgaana > Jan 1, 2005 4:54 PM > > vatica restaurant review atlanta > > Here's a nice review of my favorite Indian restaurant. What it > doesn't > tell you is that everything is vegan except for the raita. > > Laura > > > --------------------------- > http://www.accessatlanta.com/restaurants/content/restaurants/reviews/ > 1204/30vatica.html > > SMALL WONDERS > Vatica embraces a vegetarian, Indian-style > > By MERIDITH FORD > The Atlanta Journal-Constitution > Published on: 12/30/2004 > > " WE CAME BACK, " exclaim two young girls as they bolt past the front > counter at Vatica and nestle into a booth. > > But owner Dhirajlal Vallabh appears to be far more interested in > selling me a plastic to-go box of sugary, cardamom-scented besan > halva, > an Indian " fudge. " > > Then suddenly he quips, " Why did you come back? " and gives me a > half-wink, nodding in their direction. > > He is like that. He spends much of his time in the front of the house > joking with customers and seeing to it that they will want to come > back. His wife, Sadhana, does most of the cooking. It is soulful, > homestyle cooking that reflects his home state of Gujarat in the > Northwest. > > India is larger than Europe and embraces five major faiths, but > Americans tend to lump all Indian cooking into two broad categories: > northern and southern. Gujarati cooking is primarily vegetarian, > which > is what is served at Vatica. The food here won't remind you of the > dosai or idli of south India, nor will you think of tandoori anything > while you are here. > > Instead, Vatica embraces the universal Indian concept of thali ? a > platter of food centered on rice and bread surrounded by lots of > savory > pots of goodies to dip and sup. > > And that is all. The menu changes daily, although you'll probably get > much of the same dishes each time you go. Thali at lunch is $6.99. > Thali at dinner is $8.99. There is no choice on your part, just on > Sadhana and what she feels like cooking that day. > > Sometimes it will be thali with fluffy rice to pour a > yogurt-and-chickpea curry laced with fresh cilantro over. Maybe there > will be okra, lightly flavored with very little spice and cooked to a > glorious mash. Perhaps instead of okra there will be green peppers, > done the same. > > Always there will be puri, or perhaps roti, flatbreads fast from the > griddle with tiny air puffs dotting their otherwise perfect surfaces. > Use them to dip into the curry, or to clear your palate by dipping > them > into the fresh flavor of the cooling raita. Or just tear and eat them > while they're still warm. > > And always there will be Sadhana's potatoes: part chunks, part mash, > dotted with bits of black pepper and deceivingly hot and spicy. They > are so rich, so comforting, so like home cooking. > > Most likely there will be dal of some sort, especially good when the > pulses have been cooked to a perfect creaminess like a porridge, with > just enough left whole to make the texture interesting. > > From underneath the glass on each table, a beautiful woman stares at > you, often in bridal garb. She may be Punjabi, or maybe, like > Vallabh, > she is Gujarati. > > " They are my calendar girls, " says Vallabh with a smile. > > It's just about now during a meal that the lone waitress will wheel a > dim sum-like cart by, squeaking wheels and all, loaded with > replenishments of anything you want. > > Potatoes, of course, and more bread, please. And maybe just a bit > more > green peppers. > > " You a member of the club yet? " asks Vallabh, eyes twinkling. > > " What club? " I ask earnestly. > > " The 'I love Vatica' club, " laughs Vallabh as he brings a bit of the > sweet halva from the counter for us to nibble. > > Oh, yes. I would say so. > > > To send an email to - > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2005 Report Share Posted January 3, 2005 Laura, I live in Atlanta as well. Small world! I was wondering if there were any other vegans around besides my husband and me. I mean, I knew there are a few, but never actually met any others! My favorite restaurant around town is Cafe Sunflower. I've never eaten much Indian cuisine, any suggestions on what's good? Thanks! Valerie (Norcross, GA)morgaana wrote: No, they only serve the raita because people expect it. The owner himself is vegan. No ghee. I think the author pulled that yogurt & chickpea curry bit out of their ass, because none of the dishes have dairy. And the closest to creamy I've seen is a coconut curry they do every once in a while.LauraOn Jan 2, 2005, at 12:37 PM, fraggle wrote:> is the youghurt vegan??> lotsa good indoan places round here..ya juat have to constantly ask > if they use ghee ....>> > morgaana Jan 1, 2005 4:54 PM> > vatica restaurant review atlanta>> Here's a nice review of my favorite Indian restaurant. What it > doesn't > tell you is that everything is vegan except for the raita.>> Laura>>> ---------------------------> http://www.accessatlanta.com/restaurants/content/restaurants/reviews/> 1204/30vatica.html>> SMALL WONDERS> Vatica embraces a vegetarian, Indian-style>> By MERIDITH FORD> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution> Published on: 12/30/2004>> "WE CAME BACK," exclaim two young girls as they bolt past the front > counter at Vatica and nestle into a booth.>> But owner Dhirajlal Vallabh appears to be far more interested in > selling me a plastic to-go box of sugary, cardamom-scented besan > halva, > an Indian "fudge.">> Then suddenly he quips, "Why did you come back?" and gives me a > half-wink, nodding in their direction.>> He is like that. He spends much of his time in the front of the house > joking with customers and seeing to it that they will want to come > back. His wife, Sadhana, does most of the cooking. It is soulful, > homestyle cooking that reflects his home state of Gujarat in the > Northwest.>> India is larger than Europe and embraces five major faiths, but > Americans tend to lump all Indian cooking into two broad categories: > northern and southern. Gujarati cooking is primarily vegetarian, > which > is what is served at Vatica. The food here won't remind you of the > dosai or idli of south India, nor will you think of tandoori anything > while you are here.>> Instead, Vatica embraces the universal Indian concept of thali ? a > platter of food centered on rice and bread surrounded by lots of > savory > pots of goodies to dip and sup.>> And that is all. The menu changes daily, although you'll probably get > much of the same dishes each time you go. Thali at lunch is $6.99. > Thali at dinner is $8.99. There is no choice on your part, just on > Sadhana and what she feels like cooking that day.>> Sometimes it will be thali with fluffy rice to pour a > yogurt-and-chickpea curry laced with fresh cilantro over. Maybe there > will be okra, lightly flavored with very little spice and cooked to a > glorious mash. Perhaps instead of okra there will be green peppers, > done the same.>> Always there will be puri, or perhaps roti, flatbreads fast from the > griddle with tiny air puffs dotting their otherwise perfect surfaces. > Use them to dip into the curry, or to clear your palate by dipping > them > into the fresh flavor of the cooling raita. Or just tear and eat them > while they're still warm.>> And always there will be Sadhana's potatoes: part chunks, part mash, > dotted with bits of black pepper and deceivingly hot and spicy. They > are so rich, so comforting, so like home cooking.>> Most likely there will be dal of some sort, especially good when the > pulses have been cooked to a perfect creaminess like a porridge, with > just enough left whole to make the texture interesting.>> From underneath the glass on each table, a beautiful woman stares at > you, often in bridal garb. She may be Punjabi, or maybe, like > Vallabh, > she is Gujarati.>> "They are my calendar girls," says Vallabh with a smile.>> It's just about now during a meal that the lone waitress will wheel a > dim sum-like cart by, squeaking wheels and all, loaded with > replenishments of anything you want.>> Potatoes, of course, and more bread, please. And maybe just a bit > more > green peppers.>> "You a member of the club yet?" asks Vallabh, eyes twinkling.>> "What club?" I ask earnestly.>> "The 'I love Vatica' club," laughs Vallabh as he brings a bit of the > sweet halva from the counter for us to nibble.>> Oh, yes. I would say so.>>> To send an email to - >>>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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