From start to finish, always a perfect meal in the Punjabi style. Family owned and operated Gangadin has been camped in the same side-street location in a non-descript store front since 1984. We’ve been dining there almost from the start.
Indian food is among my favorites. I love cooking it at home. The aromas linger through the night and I can walk out of the bedroom in the morning to the fragrant reminders of the previous night’s culinary pleasure. Everything from quick and dirty chicken, lamb or sea food curries to complicated shrimp in dark sauce has found a place on my cook top.
So, if I cook Indian at home with some frequency, why go out? Because Gangadin does things I can’t do at home. I don’t use MSG, preservatives, animal fat, butter, ghee or sugar in my Indian cooking and neither do they. But I don’t have a tandoor oven; I can’t turn out the stuffed breads they offer; I can’t do samosas at home. You get the idea.
Gangadin offers a solid and diverse menu with a strong array of appetizers, breads, soups, rice dishes, lamb, chicken and sea food options and side dishes.
We always start with an assortment of appetizers that includes at least two different types of samosas. Got to have bread? My favorite is Aloo Parantha, stuffed with mildly spiced potatoes and peas and cooked in the tandoor. We always tell ourselves one order is enough to share. It would be if it weren’t so good. Then we go back for a second one. There’s also Spinach Parantha and Gobhi Parantha stuffed with cauliflower.
Want a rice dish? Can’t beat the vegetable biryani and can’t stop eating it. As much as I’m committed to variety, I can’t help but order the chicken tikka every time I’m there – the tandoori special with onions, not the Massala. I want to save the sauces for the vindaloo – usually lamb – or the rogan josh, another lamb treat. Lamb korma is a wonderful option. With all these choices, and the chicken tikka being a must, we usually don’t get around to any of the sea food options. But we’ve tried them and they are outstanding.
If you can go with a party of four, instead of two, do it. You’ll be able to sample a variety of dishes without over-eating.
Gangadin is close enough to some of the studios to find cast and crew there for lunch or dinner with some regularity. But that’s not the reason go there. It’s the food. Healthy, flavorful and commanding. I’ll continue to cook Indian meals at home. But that won’t keep me from regular visits to Gangadin.
