Lucky x2

I thought I was lucky x 2 at our last meeting: First when I snagged a prime parking spot and managed to slide my car into the tiny spot with no damage, and second when I realized I'd found a pretty good Indian Restaurant. The Westport traffic was heavy that evening, I was running late, and there was quite a bit of Ped traffic, too. I felt like I was walking in the West Village of Manhattan as I passed the funky shops and stepped in the vibe that is Korma Sutra.

Our table was tucked up by the window near the entrance and our group was tucked up next to each other. Yeah-- it was almost snuggly! Since my favorite Indian restaurant has closed in Lee's Summit, I'm on the hunt for the next best thing. The naan was soft and pillowy, delicious! My butter chicken was ordered a bit spicy (5 of 10) and had the familiar, smooth taste that melds so perfectly with naan, but brings a drip to my nose. I loved all the dishes I tasted, even Grandpas sweet, HOT HOT HOT curry, but was a bit disappointed in the chicken biryani. It lacked the layers of flavors I've come to expect. Not bad, of course, just mediocre. Although a dish that can define an Indian restaurant for me, the other dishes were so enjoyable that I left with a great impression of the place. Rating 4 stars

Are you there spicy food? Its me Josh!

I will start with saying I have never tried Indian food before, so I was not sure what to expect. I was very excited to try a type of food I have never had before and to be honest i almost did not make it. My schedule was off due to work and thought Thursday was in fact Wednesday, lucky for me my mother called asking where I was and I bolted to Westport, after walking the street 2 times I found Korma Sutra and this is where the story truly begins.

I walked in surprised to see Rich not there, but even more surprised to get to see Michael and his girlfriend Kate. I sat down in my seat and noticed right away that we must have decided to go eat Italian instead of Indian as these seats were very similar to a family style restaurant. (lucky for us we are a close family and Justin wear deodorant)

I was excited to see some type of appetizer which I never got the name of because I showed up late and the 3 different dipping sauces added unique taste to the pallet. I decided to order a native beer and for the first time was not an IPA, it was a tasty beer especially with my dish, however I prefer IPA.

For dinner I was torn between lamb and shrimp (I am a huge shrimp fan) I decided that lamb was probably more authentic, so I went with that. I was asked how spicy I wanted it and as a man who likes his food spicy (if you aint sweating it aint spicy enough) I asked for a 10 the spiciest of the spiciest! The waitress just shook her head no, so I dumbed it down to an 8. I do not make many mistakes but this was one of them. When given the food I was disappointed at the size of this little bowl, I am a growing boy and I need my meat, either way I was ready to eat! I loaded my plate up with a good portion of rice and poured the sauce and meat on top, before I could take a bite I was already being offered samples of other peoples dishes (a pleasant surprise!) I was ready for this first bite and the intensity of the spices, when again I had to wait as they wanted a picture to capture my suffering of the burn of my stupidity ordering something so spicy! I took that first bite and I chewed and waited as I know spices always kick in when you least expect it... nothing... the food was fantastic, but there was no heat there was no spice, just a tender lamb. The lack of spiciness was a bit disappointing, but the food was fantastic as the rice was the best rice I have ever had and the naan dipped in the sauce was divine and might I add the goat was by far the best meat on the table, even my scared mother seemed shocked by the tender and juiciness of that goat, I had to debate going and buying a goat for my own cooking pleasure.

To end the night they brought surprise after surprise of desserts and drinks. A fantastic surprise to end the night.

My final opinion is that for my first taste of Indian cuisine I was quite happy. The food was yummy and the beer was beery and being with my family priceless! 3.8

Delicious... though, not what I expected from Indian food

I must say that the food at Korma Sutra rocked the proverbial casbah (but, I didn't understand the name. It seems some sort of Indian play on words, but I don't get it).

The sauces were super saucy, the spices very spicy, the meat tremendously meaty, and the rice remarkably rice-y. Maybe the riceiest rice I have ever eaten. And speaking of meaty meat, I did expect something a little meatier. Don't get me wrong, it was meaty meat, but the menu consisted of mainly chicken, fish, lamb and goat - I thought Indian food would have more meats like buffalo (not bison, mind you, but buffalo), venison, and the like.

I got the goat, which was super-duper tender (except for the bones, which were the exact opposite of tender - I was disappointed the bones were not more tender). I was a bit surprised that they chose to leave the bones in, but I seem remember from history class that Indians were known for using every part of an animal.

I also tried some of the buttery chicken, which was not very buttery, but scrump-tilly-umptious, just the same. I did not know that Indians used much butter in their cuisine - I wonder if they learned how to churn butter from the pilgrims.

I also tried Grandpa's chicken dish, which was definitely the spiciest thing I had. Spicy food side note: Wasn't it embarrassing watching Josh try to eat his "spicy" food. The sweat was just dripping off his poor forehead, as he lapped up everyone's water, and licked his napkin trying to find relief. If only he could have licked his own tears; there were surely enough to quench the fire. Bush league, Josh. Bush league. Anyways... grandpa's was also really good, and I understand it to be a dish classically reserved for patriarchs of a certain class... it was one of Chief Sitting Bull's favorites. An apt Indian food for grandpa.

Oh and the naan - superb. Especially the garlic naan. I bet naan was a favorite food of the Indians of olden times. I can picture them sitting around a campfire in the Old West under a full moon, cooking up this delicious flatbread.

The atmosphere was also pleasant, though atypical of my idea of an Indian restaurant. But I am glad they went contemporary - its seems too often that Indian establishments are portrayed with Southwestern patterns.

Overall, I thought it was a righteous meal, but not really what I expected from an Indian restaurant. The food was so exotic, it seemed to be from halfway around the world rather than right here in our own backyard. My first Indian experience can be summed up with the words of General Custer during his last Indian experience (paraphrased): "I did not see that coming."

A Taste of India

Last week's dinner club took us to Korma Sutra in Westport. The setting makes this place: the street-facing windows are decked out in bright blue. When you walk in, the restaurant is decorated like an exotic Indian palace in pink and gold.

I had the Saag Paneer, baby spinach in curry with tofu. It was very tasty with just the right amount of kick. My fellow diners had varying experiences with the spiciness of their food: the waitress answered Josh with a firm "no" when he said he wanted his 10/10 on the spicy scale. Probably for the best. Poor Grandpa's chicken curry dish was one of the spiciest on the table, despite asking for something mild.

The best part about Indian food is the sharing: we traded Vindaloos, Tikka Masalas and Biriyanis along with all the naan bread. Lamb, chicken and goat (see Becky trying Justin's goat dish in the photo below). Needless to say, I was stuffed after the meal.

I like Indian food but admittedly it's not my favorite. This restaurant gained points for the surprises: a fried potato something as an appetizer, rice pudding, mango ice cream and some unidentified dumpling item for dessert and chai to finish. Service was OK but I have to give them credit for consistent water refills (a must when eating spicy curries). My rating: 3.75/5.