So I have never been to India and I am not going to pretend to be a food critic because honestly I don’t know all that much about food. However, today I bring to you a mini feature of two of State College’s Indian restaurants. Last week I ate Indian food twice within three days (what can I say? I like it!)
Last Thursday I went to India Pavilion, which is in Calder Way, which if you are not familiar with is the alleyway between College and Beaver. I was there for lunch and for lunch they have a buffet, which is $7.95, which turns out to be $8.43 with tax if you only get water to drink. It’s a small buffet but it has a good selection of flavorful and tasty items. I couldn’t tell you the names of the dishes I tried because I have a very bad memory for that sort of thing but I can tell you that it was yummy and that there seems to be something for everyone, including people who aren’t big fans of meat. A lot of what I ate was at least a little spicy but not all of it. One of my favorite things about this place is the fresh NAAN that the servers bring around. It comes out fresh and hot (last time it was almost too hot at first) and it just goes with everything.
One of the other things I really like about India Pavilion is the restaurant space itself and the atmosphere. The restaurant is actually located in the basement of a building and to get there you have to walk down a set of stairs lowering yourself from the street level. Due to its location the lighting in the restaurant is rather low because there is a lack or natural light and I really like this. It gives the impression of being intimate and private and so when you are there you feel like you can talk about personal things without being over heard. This is important for restaurants. Although it’s not the ideal place to go to have a private conversation it is important to feel like you can talk without everyone else in the place being able to hear what you are saying.
So, keeping that in mind, last Saturday I tried for the first time Karma, which is an Indian restaurant on Beaver Ave. not far from the Cata Station. It also has a lunch buffet and yummy food with fresh NAAN and I have even heard from more than one person that the food there is actually better than that at India Pavilion (I honestly couldn’t make a proper judgment on that as I found them both to be delicious). Here’s the catch. The actual restaurant, Karma is a square and lacks the intimacy of India Pavilion. I was there with a friend and we had a table for two smack dab in the middle of the room and it felt like everyone was listening in. I felt very exposed. This may seem a bit too dramatic and I apologize but my friend and I both agreed on this feeling. The nice thing about Karma is that is has a more modern feel than India Pavilion.
I guess its just a question of personal preference but I honestly think if you have a hankering for new things or if you like Indian food you should check both places out!