Indian Restaurants

ramonamcdaris · Post by **ramonamcdaris** » Mon 09 Mar 2009 23:14

The Digress Boys have now wandered off to other topics - their fav food types - and I've forgotten my original question... Oh, Yes--It was looking for Indian (and Mexican) restaurants! I think Thumbelina gave me some good leads--as did a few of the rest of you, and many thanks. I will look for these places and hopefully not have to fire up the skillet myself as someone suggested I do. Lazy me

Ramona

blackduff · Post by **blackduff** » Mon 09 Mar 2009 23:45

Ramona
Don't forget that the George and the Dragon bar will be working again for the spring and they have some good curries at their place. This is in Argeles Plage, if you don't know yet.

Blackduff

ramonamcdaris · Post by **ramonamcdaris** » Tue 10 Mar 2009 00:23

Thanks Blackduff. Susan and I are already virtual "book buddies" and I am looking forward to meeting her at the book club...and now curries, too? I am definitely fixed up now. Thanks so much for letting me know about the George and Dragon curries!

Ramona

Serge · Post by **Serge** » Tue 10 Mar 2009 23:31

ramonamcdaris wrote:The Digress Boys have now wandered off to other topics - their fav food types -

Sorry - again!

Santiago · Post by **Santiago** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 09:42

Serge wrote:
Santiago wrote: So Serge, what are your top three cuisines?
1. English.

2. Italian.

3. Cantonese.

You can't have much fun eating out here then. Except pizzas of course.

BTW what do you count as British Cuisine?

Roger O · Post by **Roger O** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 10:14

Serge wrote:
Santiago wrote: So Serge, what are your top three cuisines?
1. English.

2. Italian.

3. Cantonese.

Maybe the PO is the wrong place for you?
Ventimiglia, Genova, Bologna, Padova, Firenze? or even Calabria??

Forget the pizza!
Lasagna verde al forno!!!
http://fotos.mundorecetas.net/albums/us ... _verde.JPG

(My first wife Luciana was Italian-Swiss and her Mama was a Petrocchi from Castello di Cirelio.)

As for Cantonese - Hong Kong Dim Sum - 2000 varieties to choose!!
and only one place to try: http://www.royalplaza.com.hk/dining_chi ... taurant.do

Finally - to get back on theme:
Nobody's mentioned - as far as I can see -
Le Taj
28 r Fusterie 66000 PERPIGNAN
04 68 84 12 20

Never been inside - but it is an Indian restaurant!
Anyone know it?

john · Post by **john** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 13:52

To be quite frank,if ethnic food is what you are after,in general you are wasting your time in France. Period.

OK,some of the Viet places are passable. I've never yet come across anything good Thai or Indian. Some N African stuff is reasonable,but nothing to write home about. Likewise Lebanese.Personally I agree with Serge about Tex Mex food. I can take it or leave it. Italian food in France is a joke...far too heavy on the pasta front,and as for their idea of "Italian " coffee...well don't get me started......

IMHO,you are FAR better off in UK ,Holland,Germany and Scandinavia for these cuisines.

There is an OK Indian in Empuriabrava,and a very good Thai nearby in Roses,by the way.

My favourite cuisines?

Indonesian/Malaysian

South Italian

Good French (ie not from round here)

ramonamcdaris · Post by **ramonamcdaris** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 14:22

Wow--I didn't plan to "eat Indian or Mexican" every night! Just once would be fine, and I have that covered, thanks to all of you.

As for food in general, I NEVER go to a country just for its food. There is so much else to consider, and anyhow, I usually stay in apartments where I can prepare whatever I want. But there ARE some good "ethnic restaurants" in France...maybe just not in the PO. Paris is full of them, but then Paris is so far away, and I am in the PO for its special ambience. And did I mention I don't eat anything with eyes?

Ramona

Roger O · Post by **Roger O** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 14:31

ramonamcdaris wrote: And did I mention I don't eat anything with eyes?

Ramona

Ooops - no potatoes then!!

ramonamcdaris · Post by **ramonamcdaris** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 14:39

Roger, I have not yet stopped laughing!!!!!! May I hereby please rephrase my claim: "I don't eat anything with eyes, with the exception of LOTS OF POTATOES!!

Your birdy pair in the garden sounds lovely...

Ramona

thumbelina · Post by **thumbelina** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 14:40

My advice? Stick to local cuisine- Catalan cuisine made with in season products! Totally delish! Yummy!

john · Post by **john** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 14:48

ramonamcdaris wrote:But there ARE some good "ethnic restaurants" in France...maybe just not in the PO. Paris is full of them, but then Paris is so far away, and I am in the PO for its special ambience.
Ramona

Of course it's true that there are ethnic places in Paris . Large cities tend to attract them (I'm sure Ramona accepts that stuff she can get back home in New York would not be so readily available in the Midwest towns)

I still maintain that Paris is not as good ethnic quality/choice wise as London,Amsterdam or Hamburg.

polremy · Post by **polremy** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 16:46

thumbelina wrote:My advice? Stick to local cuisine- Catalan cuisine made with in season products! Totally delish! Yummy!

but very, very brown!

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 16:55

Just what exacty are the good Catalan dishes? So far we have not been to any restaurants which serve purely Catalan cuisine, it would be good to know what is recommended.

john · Post by **john** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 17:26

Kathy wrote:Just what exacty are the good Catalan dishes? So far we have not been to any restaurants which serve purely Catalan cuisine, it would be good to know what is recommended.

You might well ask,Kathy. I'm afraid that Catalan food,as PR says, is big on quantity,low on sophistication.

In fairness,the ingredients are fresh,and invariably good quality(esp the meat). But that's when it starts to go downhill.

Stuff like Escalivade,Suquet,Cargolade,Stewed Butifarra(and butifarra negre), Pork and Beans,bras de Venus,Costellou,Peix Fregit,are the main sort of things on offer in Catalan restaurants,and are belly fillers above all else. Amanida Catalana (Catalan salad) is invariably a cheap green salad with a load of odd looking embutits(cold meats) dumped on top.

If I venture into one of these places,its usually in the summer,and I go for some charcoal grilled meat,with local bread and a crisp green salad,which often is not bad.

It says a lot that most of the better restaurants in Sp catalonia are run by people from other parts of Spain!

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 18:01

Yes well, thanks John after checking some of these dishes on
http://www.whatamieating.com/
it is grilled meat and salad and bread for me too. My palate is not yet ready for Catalan dishes I am afraid.

thumbelina · Post by **thumbelina** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 18:16

john wrote:
Kathy wrote:low on sophistication.

In fairness,the ingredients are fresh,and invariably good quality(esp the meat). !
The food is peasant food. It is fresh, normally good quality ingredients, as John says, and will fill you up.

The Catalans are low on sophistication, their food mirrors that. But a salad of roasted red peppers with anchovies, hard boiled eggs and persillade, followed by boles de picolat and either a bra de venus or a creme catalane is a meal fit for a king (if somewhat heavy lol).

Kathy · Post by **Kathy** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 18:24

What is bra de venus? I couldn't find this one and you can imagine what I get when I google it.
Those others you mentioned Thumbelina I have had in french restaurants and yes they are tasty enough. I always ask though if the meat in the Boules is from a bovine nature.

rbg · Post by **rbg** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 19:26

It's like a swiss roll with cream in the centre : a desert

Santiago · Post by **Santiago** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 19:38

I think we're being a bit harsh on Catalan cuisine. Although it's not really extensive enough to be a cuisine in its own right, it does have some good local dishes and a certain combination of ingredients which do give it a style.

It is peasant food, but so is all regional food. Mexican, Thai, Indian and Italian.

I'm sure in Barcelona you can find Catalan Gourmet restaurants. Even here there are some pretty good Catalan styles restaurants such as Mas Chabry and the Vigatane in Canet.

Here is a website with some recipe ideas http://www.vinsduroussillon.com/civr-3100.php?CatID=33

The flavours and ingredients are just the start of any cuisine.

thumbelina · Post by **thumbelina** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 19:39

or custard - and its yummy!

Boles de picoulat is, in fact, a mixture of minced pork and minced beef, Kathy.

I'm not - I love it Santiago (especially Magret with chocolate sauce)!!!

polremy · Post by **polremy** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 19:44

Kathy wrote:What is bra de venus? I couldn't find this one and you can imagine what I get when I google it.
Those others you mentioned Thumbelina I have had in french restaurants and yes they are tasty enough. I always ask though if the meat in the Boules is from a bovine nature.

bras de venus - think arctic roll.

ramonamcdaris · Post by **ramonamcdaris** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 20:02

(I started typing and lost the text...so if it appears willy-nilly somewhere, half-finished, that explains it.)

As I was saying before I lost my words...
Since I got my Indian Restaurant question well-addressed, I am going to continue this on a new Forum subject which is, to me, more interesting:
CATALAN FOOD...so, see you on CATALAN FOOD!

Ramona

Serge · Post by **Serge** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 20:23

Roger & Santiago or is it Fred & Barney,

The Salamadre in Sorede is one of my favourite restaurants in the PO, OK they are French Canadian but I would consider them to be a French restaurant serving food that you could probably find on a menu in the UK.
I didn't say that I liked French foods because I don't like some of the ingredients that they use!

Oh, and it might surprise you to know that the Italians are capable of making other things as well as pizza's - but then I suppose you have to resort to ridiclue to make yourselves feel better!

Puddles · Post by **Puddles** » Wed 11 Mar 2009 20:31

Agree with you Serge.
But , before you put your foot in it, It was the turks that introduced Pasta to Italy , yoghurt also.

Santiago · Post by **Santiago** » Thu 12 Mar 2009 07:52

I wasn't ridiculing anyone. I was pointing out that from your list of favourite cuisines, the only dish you'll find plenty of here in PO is Pizza.

I'm still curious to know what you mean by British cuisine. As you probably know, the most frequently eaten dish in Britain is Chicken Tikka Masala.

An while we're on crossover cuisines, many popular "Cantonese" dishes originated in the States. In fact I think the US also lays claim to Pizza too.

blackduff · Post by **blackduff** » Thu 12 Mar 2009 09:07

Serge wrote:Roger & Santiago or is it Fred & Barney,

The Salamadre in Sorede is one of my favourite restaurants in the PO, OK they are French Canadian but I would consider them to be a French restaurant serving food that you could probably find on a menu in the UK.
I didn't say that I liked French foods because I don't like some of the ingredients that they use!

Oh, and it might surprise you to know that the Italians are capable of making other things as well as pizza's - but then I suppose you have to resort to ridiclue to make yourselves feel better!

Serge
You will get a shock the next time you visit the Salamandre. These are 100% French which ran a business in the old part of Montreal. They have some French Canadian dishes on the menu here but they (the owners) are from France.

Blackduff

Serge · Post by **Serge** » Thu 12 Mar 2009 09:15

Why what's happened?

We have been going there for the last few years, in fact I was there a couple of weeks ago ..............................

FORUM