Ambika Kapil and her husband Adhikari fill their plates at Ambrosia's Sunday buffet. (DAVID ROYAL/The Herald) Whether he realizes it or not, Bhupinder Singh has become a cultural attaché whose diplomatic mission is to educate unsophisticated palates on the Peninsula — proving that Indian cuisine stretches well beyond curry and chutney.
Singh has the credentials — a stint at the famed Bukhara in Delhi before turning Mountain View's critically acclaimed Amber India into a Bay Area institution — and showcases his talents nightly at the new Ambrosia India Bistro on Abrego Street in Monterey.
Amber India's manager Sam Khanal and much of the staff joined the pilgrimage south, bringing good vibes from recent success to a building that has seen a string of short-lived failures since the venerable Clock restaurant closed in 1997. Singh and co-owner Dee Shrestha transformed the space occupied by the last tenant, Francisco's, developing a modern, intimate setting that avoids kitsch and clutter. Two statues of Ganesh (the god of success, education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth) welcome visitors, ushering them through a heated courtyard garden to the dining room beyond.
The menu is large and varied, offering the likes of fresh-baked naan, soups and salads, rice dishes, sizzling tandooris, chicken, lamb and seafood and a large array of vegetarian options. Singh cooks what he calls "Indian frontier cuisine," a blend of authentic, regional flavors and techniques inspired by a variety of influences, from Mughal emperors to India's southern fishermen.
Frontier dishes, incorporating both curry and tandoori cooking methods, are made on a foundation of whole spices roasted and ground in Singh's kitchen. The menu is annotated, and Ambrosia promises assistance for neophytes from a well-trained staff.
Ambrosia is equipped with a full bar, stocks a few large-bottled Indian beers and showcases a varied wine list from around the world.
Lunchtime affords weekday visitors a lengthy buffet beginning at 11:30 a.m.; a champagne buffet is offered on weekends.
|HE SAID|
I thought I had been eating Indian food off and on for my entire adult life, but most of those meals perpetuated a fraud. Authentic Indian food, much to my recent discovery, has a range and depth of flavors, using whole ground spices discriminately to create undertones of complexity — and not always heat.
Ambrosia offers a depth and diversity of flavors, giving diners a tour of India through the country's regional cuisine.
My advice would be to skip the varied appetizers altogether and head straight for the heavenly naan bread and the entrées, served in an appealing family style.
Over the course of two nights we ordered no fewer than a dozen such entrées; rice dishes, meat from the tandoor, vegetarian delicacies, kebabs, and there wasn't one clunker. Not one. Eight people raved about bold, complex flavors and the quality of the ingredients.
The two dishes I faced with the most skepticism — paneer tikka (fresh cottage cheese kebabs battered in yogurt) and kabuli chana (garbanzo beans cooked with chiles, spices and ginger) — ended up among my favorites. This country boasting 100 million-plus vegetarians offers the best meatless dishes in the world, and Ambrosia plays off that tradition quite admirably.
The chef makes his own paneer — a fresh, unripened cheese curdled with lemon juice and pressed until it attains a firm texture, much like tofu only more meatlike, especially when baked in the tandoor oven to achieve a nice crispness around the edges. It's served on a cast-iron skillet with sweet, caramelized slices — and was delicious plain or dipped into the palak (a creamy spinach with ghee).
Through it all, I received an eye-opening education — thanks to my attuned dining partners and the ultra-patient staff. My introduction to authentic Indian food made an impression, as did Ambrosia, which has quickly catapulted onto the short list of best Peninsula dining experiences.
|SHE SAID|
We land in Ambrosia two nights in a row — once planned, and once enticed by friends who are already regulars as well as discerning consumers and preparers of Indian cuisine.
Neither of the two long-standing Peninsula Indian restaurants passed my personal "would I return?" test, so this time, I am open to Ambrosia's promise of something fresh and flavorful. Immediately I am encouraged by the well-organized menu. In addition, servers are enthusiastic, generously sharing their knowledge and opinions in an effort to demystify selections for less experienced diners like me.
We order many dishes, which are scattered family-style across our table in little pounded copper porringers and sizzling cast-iron skillets. The aromas are perfumelike, with notes of cinnamon, mint, cumin, cardamom and fennel. We pass around the pots, exclaiming with our mouths full, disarmed by the explosions of flavor that come with each bite.
Here is my list of favorites:
• Smoked tomato shorba — an amazingly rich soup that begins with a rush of sweetness, quickly followed by layers of smoke and heat. Cardamom and cumin rise to the surface and then melt away all in one slurp ($3.25).
• Palak paneer — a smooth, buttery spinach "mush" blended with farmer's cheese ($10.45), which proves the perfect dipping companion to the restaurant's outstanding homemade parantha (flat bread stuffed with potato), or dolloped atop a serving of delicate basmati rice.
• Dum aloo — bite-sized potatoes hollowed out and stuffed with a fragrant apricot and mint mixture and cooked in the chef's special sweet and savory sauce ($9.95).
• Chicken biryani — an elaborate traditional baked rice dish that includes chicken marinated in a paste of ground spices and yogurt, saffron-infused basmati, fried onion, golden raisins and vegetables, with cashews adding a nice crunch ($12.95).
As an accompaniment, we share a wonderful bottle of Hugel, an Alsatian gewurztraminer, while others opt for beer (something refreshing is best with the complex, yet not overly spicy, flavors of the meal).
Mike Hale and Melissa Snyder approach their reviews from a couple's perspective. All visits are made anonymously. Comment at tablefortwo@sbcglobal.net.GO!
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AMBROSIA INDIA BISTRO 565 Abrego St., Monterey, 641-0610. •Hours: lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner 5 p.m.-10 p.m. •Cards: all major •Wheelchair access: yes •Bar: full •Price range: $8.95-$32.95 •Web site:•Pluses: complex flavors, textures; large and varied menu adequately annotated for beginners; nice wine and beer selection; helpful, knowledgable waitstaff. •Minuses: It's pricey, at times, but worth it. •Must-orders: smoked tomato shorba; dum aloo; paneer tikka; tandoori chicken •The bottom line: Fresh, home-cooked cuisine prepared with passion gives locals an authentic Indian experience.
Tuesday night at a new restaurant isn’t usually the happiest place to be in space and time. Add in the off-season effect in a tourist town chock-block with competition, and you have the makings of a potentially grim night out.
Not so at Ambrosia India Bistro. This warm, modern newcomer appears to have the hustle and charm to shake off the usual Peninsula midweek ennui, plus energy left over to banish (we hope) the malevolent forces that have haunted its troubled location. Could it be that the Curse of the Old Clock has been lifted?
If so, we have the formidable talent of chef and co-owner Bhupinder Singh (the other partner is Dee Shrestha of the Loose Noodle) to thank. After seven years at the famed Bukhara in New Delhi’s Maurya Sheraton and a stint at Carnival Cruise Lines, Singh took over at Mountain View’s Amber India, where he worked such wizardry in the kitchen that in 2004 the San Francisco Chronicle had no choice but to declare it “the best Indian food in the Bay Area.”
That wouldn’t surprise the local following. Since its Jan. 12 opening, Ambrosia has called the faithful in very respectable numbers. “We are so happy right now,” Singh said last week. “People have been back 10 or 15 times.”
They might be trying to make it through the exhaustive menu. The special cocktails alone constitute a bewildering roster of high-octane confections, many of them featuring tropical fruit-infused spirits priced to move at $7.50. I was happy to see the rare Pimm’s Cup, a refreshing tonic that brings to mind mosquito nets and kneesocks. In the end I retreated to a decent wine list heavy on California vintages and chose a glass of Trefethen Dry Riesling ($8.45).
The dinner menu made my head spin. Ambrosia offers cuisine from all over India: seafood curries from the south, lamb curry from Kashmir, tandoori meats and creamy sauces from the north. There are twin appetizer menus (vegetarian and non-), 10 breads, 13 vegetarian entrees and long array of chicken, lamb and seafood dishes. The Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian Feasts ($16.95 and $19.95 respectively) could neatly solve the problem for a first-time visitor.
Choosing was all the more difficult since the condiments that came with the papadum (crispy sheets of fried lentil flour), along with our menus, had me transfixed. A thin mint-and-cilantro chutney, a fathomless sweet-and-astringent puree of tamarind, fenugreek and other spices, and a mind-bogglingly good mixed pickle recipe from Singh’s grandmother were all accomplishments in their own right.
For appetizers we ordered samosa ($4.95) and pakora ($3.95), both vegetarian. The pakora, a vegetable fritter, was forgettable, though it served nicely as a transport system for the condiments. But my friend and I agreed that the samosa was the best we’d had. It was perfectly crispy and perfumed with what I would have sworn was artfully applied cinnamon and possibly clove. Singh, however, later set me straight: it was cumin, ginger and cilantro in with those peas and potatoes, so perfectly fried in their pastry puffs. Got me. But speaking of spices, Singh buys his whole twice monthly from a San Francisco concern that imports them directly from India; he roasts, grinds and otherwise coaxes their essence out only as needed.
The dining room is a good mix of contemporary and cozy, with dim lights (I’d actually turn it up a notch), attractive wall hangings and great ambient music from the subcontinent. In the courtyard out front a platoon of heat lamps and a firepit stand ready to fend off the chill for the al fresco set.
After a longish wait and the one server gaffe of the night (dumping old wine into a glass of new), dinner came. I’d ordered the assorted breads ($6.95), a warm basket of naan, onion-stuffed kulcha and oily, layered parantha—all excellent, and a portion probably perfect for a table of four or even six. For dipping we had an unusual raita ($3.45), thin and vinegary, with carrots. It was an interesting variation on the usual thick and minty preparation.
I’d ordered the great standby, tandoori chicken ($9.95 for a half order), and was not disappointed. Served sizzling on a cast-iron platter with sliced onions and herbs, it was flavorful, moist and perfectly tender. I was happy to find this chestnut so skillfully done. It came by itself, so people might consider ordering a side dish with it.
At the waiter’s recommendation, my friend had chosen the badami gosht korma ($13.95), chunks of tender lamb in a mild, creamy almond sauce with plenty of delicate spiced flavor. It was delicious, and she leaned across the table and noted approvingly that it tasted the slightest bit gamey—in other words, like lamb. “They didn’t sell out,” she said.
An apt description, I thought, of the whole Ambrosia experience.
(One) of the most promising restaurants in years (has) opened within the past month. Excitement (is) building around Ambrosia Indian Bistro in Monterey. Early signs point to success. Ambrosia's lunch buffet is an exotic thrill ride, and checks in at only $8.95 per person. Check them out and send me your opinions.
(A new spot), Ambrosia, on Abrego Street in Monterey, bills itself as an Indian bistro and could stake a strong claim among the growing ethnic restaurant diners. Ambrosia's menu appears hefty and daunting, with roughly 80 offerings. At first glance it appears to also be a coup for local vegetarians. A daily lunch buffet (11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) also looks interesting.
