“Review: Vedas Indian Restaurant brings high-end dining aspirations to Milpitas” |
| Review: Vedas Indian Restaurant brings high-end dining aspirations to Milpitas Posted: 11 Dec 2010 12:13 AM PST There seems to be an imaginary line bisecting Silicon Valley roughly along the Bayshore Freeway. To the west of the line lies most of the area's noteworthy restaurants -- especially those designed for higher-end dining. So, I was intrigued when an e-mail hit my inbox alerting me to Vedas, a new, upscale Indian restaurant in Milpitas. Chef Pradeep Kumar and his wife, Marinela Rodriguez, opened the restaurant earlier this year after he spent a few years working in corporate kitchens around Silicon Valley. Before moving to the South Bay, Kumar, who was raised in New Delhi, worked in restaurants on the East Coast, including Tamarind, a high-end Indian restaurant in New York City that received generally good reviews.Kumar's menu at Vedas is primarily focused on North Indian cuisine, but dips farther south for dishes such as Goan fish curry ($14) and jingha molli ($15), prawns in a mild coconut curry. Although Kumar's wife uses the word fusion to describe the food (there are some atypical ingredients such as the balsamic vinegar used to finish scallops ki sooley ($9) and Parmesan served with the stuffed eggplant), for the most part it's fairly traditional. Vedas' location, in a strip mall anchored by a 7-Eleven and next to a nail salon, doesn't exactly scream fine dining, but often you can find hidden gems in such places. Vedas is much more attractive inside than its environs would lead you to believe. Tables are draped in white tablecloths, and turmeric-colored walls in the main dining room are adorned with artwork. In the back, the swanky-looking Mahogany Room, with its polished wood floors and burgundy walls, is ideal for private parties and large groups.Meals start with complimentary pappadum and chutney. When we tried to order sides of the mango and tomato chutney from the menu, our waiter kindly told us that we'd be getting mint and tamarind chutney with the pappadum. Naan, which comes four pieces to a basket, is very good, particularly the garlic naan ($2.50), which was warm and had puffed nicely in the tandoori oven. Vedas' special naan ($3.50), which is seasoned with rosemary, cost more but wasn't nearly as tasty. The rosemary on what we had was almost nonexistent. For appetizers, the vegetarian samosas ($6) were light and crisp, and the potato filling was perfectly seasoned. Aloo sultani tikki ($6), potato patties filled with cheese and golden raisins, were also good but seemed to be missing the sweetness of the raisins. I also wish they had left the garnish of chopped tomato, onion and cilantro off, because the pasty pink tomatoes you get this time of year are a waste of everyone's time. The scallops ki sooley were cooked very well, nicely browned on the surface and still creamy inside. The other seafood dishes we tried did not reach the same standard. The prawns in the jingha molli were slightly rubbery from overcooking, and the salmon in the fish tikka ($15) was a little overdone, as well. Those who enjoy heavily spiced dishes that pack some heat may be disappointed. I expected some pleasant warmth in dishes such as chicken tikka masala ($12) and dal makhani ($10), a slow-cooked dish of black lentils. But the rich tomato sauce on the chicken was a little bland, and the dal lacked zip, although it did have a deep flavor. One of the best main courses was the Lucknow lamb seekh kebabs ($14). Four generous minced lamb kebabs are seasoned with cheese and herbs, formed around skewers and grilled. The cucumber raita ($3) we ordered to cool us in anticipation of spicy dishes that never came to pass worked well with the kebabs. Portion sizes in some dishes seem off. For instance, the Hyderbadi chilli chicken appetizer ($6) was a huge portion for the price, yet the jingha molli cost over twice as much ($15) and came with only five prawns. For dessert we tried kheer ($6), a creamy rice pudding studded with raisins and almonds that is lightly sweet and an ultimate comfort food. Carrot halwa ($6), was impressively light and fluffy, a welcome contrast to some halwas that have the consistency of lead. Honey made the dish quite sweet, and it was large enough for three or more to share. The menu features one dessert for diabetics, a nice touch. Despite some faults, there's a real and sincere effort on the part of the staff to make things right. One night, there was only one other table occupied in the restaurant, yet service was noticeably slow because the kitchen was assembling a large catering order at the bar. Our server brought us two different salads, on the house. A green salad came to bridge the extraordinarily long gap between the appetizer and main course; another salad of onions sprinkled with cumin came out with the meal. They were both appreciated, namely for the sentiment. Another evening we had ordered far too much food, and hesitated when our server offered to box it up for us. Perhaps our reluctance to take leftovers home concerned Chef Kumar, because he came to the table with a fresh order of pindi chole ($10), a chickpea curry, boxed to go. He told us he felt the one we already had wasn't quite right, and wanted us to try this. It was a magnanimous gesture, and to tell the truth, when I tried it the next day, it was better. Vedas isn't quite ready to compete with some of the high-end Indian restaurants that garner the attention on Silicon Valley's west side, but it does show some promise. If they can channel some of the energy used to make good when things go wrong into making sure they get things right in the first place, that will put them on the map. Contact Jennifer Graue at features@mercurynews.com. Vedas Indian Restaurant 560 N. Abel St., Milpitas *½ Vedas Indian Restaurant 560 N. Abel St., Milpitas *½ The Dish: Vedas attempts to raise the bar by providing a higher-end Indian dining option in Milpitas. You be the reviewer Next up: Ristorante Fratello, 1712 Meridian Ave., # F This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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