Monday, July 24, 2006

Farewell Taj

For those who didn't know, Taj has closed. I've been expecting this. For the past couple of years they've been showing signs of trouble. First they got stingey with the main ingredients, then with the spices. I think the location -- the old Windmill truckstop west of Frandor -- just wasn't right for them.

They had a wonderful chef, who had a different take on the same old dishes served in other Indian restaurants, plus several great things you didn't see much around here. I hope we see this person's cooking show up somewhere. (Including a truly wonderful appetizer they only offered once, during a special dinner. It was little crispy wafers -- maybe small pappadams -- covered in a chickpea, tomato and onion salad dressed in yogurt and lemon. I may have to set some other food bloggers out on a search for recipes.)

In the meantime, the people who run Sultans have bought the restaurant and will soon be opening Lazeez Grill -- American, Indian and Mediterranean food. More about this next post.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so disappointed. They had the best Indian around. Well worth the half-hour hike from Jackson.

BunnyHugger said...

The Taj was the best Indian restaurant in town. When my husband and I first moved to town the only one around was Sindhu, which we found very disappointing. The food at India Palace is OK, but the atmosphere (since they moved to their current location) is terrible. The Taj had the best food and also a nice atmosphere. My favorite thing was Taj Naan, which was naan with nuts, raisins, and cheese in the middle.

Pitchlady said...

I haven't had a chance to do my reveiw of Lazeez yet -- but the good news is that they are definitely using some Taj recipes. The dishes are up to par, but unfortunately, the Naan isn't as good yet (breads take a practiced hand). The "Lazeez Naan" is the equivalent of Taj Naan. (Also, Sindhu was going through some hard times for a while, but has come back strong. Their Kashmiri Naan is a good sweet Naan, though not the same as Taj Naan.)