by Michael Montalvo
Daily Lobo
The demise of Irysh Mac's provided an opportunity for Rasoi, an Indian restaurant, to prevail in its wake.
Owner Lareesa Agarwal said she opened the restaurant near campus in response to student requests.
"There has been a demand for a restaurant like this from the India Students Association for some time now," she said. "The closest Indian restaurant is Taj Mahal, and that is like two and a half miles away."
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Rasoi, at 110 Yale Blvd. S.E., has a cozy interior with a chic atmosphere. It's filled with inviting colors and has cloth swaths dangling against the windows. The tri-color curtains are illuminated by floor lights at night and refract a rainbow of tones throughout the dining room.
Agarwal said she used her education in architecture and interior design to develop the warm dining environment.
She also changes out the items on the buffet every day to add to the appeal, she said.
"That way, our customers can try different menu items," she said.
The buffet features about 10 items daily. Traditional cuisine from north India is cooked in tandoors - clay ovens where food is cooked at high temperatures. Rasoi's tandoors can be seen in the kitchen through big glass windows that loom over the buffet.
Fresh naan bread is served hot in baskets to each table. The naan is prepared by flattening dough and cooking it on the inside walls of the tandoors.
The buffet offered a few vegetable and meat dishes that ranged in flavor and spice.
The tandoori chicken was flavorful, tender and juicy. Sometimes with buffets, the food dries out and loses some of its natural juices, but that's not the case at Rasoi.
Student Tenzin Kunsang said that although the food on the buffet is tasty, it isn't as spicy as traditional food served in India.
"I'm from India, and compared to the food I grew up eating, the food here is not as spicy," Kunsang said. "The flavors are all the same, but the food seems to be westernized so locals can eat it."
There were too many vegetable dishes to mention them all, but they were all good and offered customers a good variety to choose from.
Rasoi is in the process of acquiring a beer and wine license and should have it in three months, Agarwal said.
