Utsav 56 / 64 Ethnic / Indian

I apologize to my readers for the lapse in my blogs. As I'm sure every one knows the economy is rough and I can't go out to eat as often. I was however able to try out a new place the other day.
I had been to this restaurant once before when it was under a different name and management. It used to be the Taj Mahal I believe. It's located right near my grand mothers house and Paul's Pizza in Vernon. The address is 575 Talcottville Road. It's hours are a bit unsual. They open for lunch 11:30 am to 2:30 pm Monday to Friday and 12 pm to 3 pm Saturday and Sunday. Then they shut down for a few hours. Sunday to Wednesday they reopen 5 pm to 10 pm, Thursday Friday and Saturday they open 5 pm to 10:30 pm. If you have any questions you can look them up at www.utsavcuisine.com and the phone number is 860-871-8714. I have not been to many Indian restaurants before so my experience with them is limited.

You walk into the dining room through a hallway in the middle and there are tables and booths lining both sides and a rather large and well stocked bar in front of you. The tables are spaced well enough apart for the staff to manuever, they can probably seat about 50 to 60 people at one time. The room was very tidy when we first arrived, the artificial lighting is very minimum and shaded with brightly colored glass. The walls and table clothes even the plates are festive and bright colors indulgining your senses and awakening your appetite. Aside from the lively color scheme it is quite simplistic. The bold take on the dining room works very well, for their daringness and success I give the dining room a 14 of 16 points.

The names on the menu are all Indian in nature and thus a bit hard for me and others to pronounce I'd assume but the staff is very accomodating to this. Like the dining room itself the menu is cheery and bright with background images to draw you in. The sections are not only broken up into the usual appetizer, soup, bread and entree categories but the types of meat as well. They will make the spiciness of your dish according to your liking, but they also have a key as to the original dishes heat level compared to others on a 1 to 3 chili scale. Overall I feel they do real well on offering many types of dishes for every one. They even had many kinds of lamb dishes something I often struggle to find on regular menus, for these reasons I get the menu layout and content a 14 of 16 points.

I went out with my friend Slade and his mothers, when I had arrive they had already sat and placed drink orders. We were one of the first customers of the meal service that day and our waiter was very helpful. Once we had ordered the food came out in quick succession often one course replacing the other just as we had finished. All of the food was decorated and garnished different than the usual ways I'm used to seeing. This was exciting for me to see new takes and ways to plate dishes. The chicken in Slade's Mom's Utsav Mixed grill was a little bit dry and our bread came out a little slow for my liking. Despite these minor set backs I give the Execution and performance of the staff a 13 of 16 points.

I came to realize while eating that I need to carry a small note book with me when I go out to take notes and write down what was ordered. In most restaurants this isn't to big of a problem but I am not entirely sure I remembered the names properly. For appetizers we ordered the Sabji Platter and Vegetable Samosas. These were good, however given the choice next time I will skip the Vegetable Samosas as one also comes on the Sabji platter, and while good didn't merit having one per person. As I mentioned before Slade's mom ordered the Utsav Mixed Grill with came with Chicken, Sheekh, Shrimp, lamb and vegetables. It arrived sizzling on a fajita style platter. The lamb was minced and rolled and the only thing I found thagt didn't need a sauce. Everything else was a little dry but other wise delicious. I ordered the Lamb Pasanda, which was lamb with a creamy cashew almond sauce and I still wish I was eating it. The lamb was fork tender and the sauce very well balanced. The meal also came with a jasmine rice medley that I ate eagerly with my sauce. Slade has become a vegan / vegetarian for moral reasons and chose to eat the Dum Aloo Kashmiri a potato stuffed with cheese and vegetables in a tomato gravy. I did not try it but it looked very good. We also ordered Chapati bread which was a whole wheat bread with onions and herbs. I wish we had skipped the appetizers and just ordered several of these. It was one of the highlights of the meal despite arriving half way through the entree portion. Slade's mother also ordered a Taj Mahal beer, and indian style beer. It was 1 pint 6 oz, so it was quite larger but a little over 4% alcohol, it had a very strong hop taste to it but over all interesting for you beer lovers. Despite all this food we also managed to order dessert, I ordered a Indian rice pudding with saffron honey and dried fruit. I'd never tried saffron in anything before so I was intriqued. We were also given a carrot pudding on the house, it was warm and had a unique texture to it. The rice pudding was very creamy and refreshing and despite the large feast I could have eaten it all myself. I know this is a lot more in depth then I usually go but I vividly remember a lot about this meal and it was quite large a border line feast I would say. Aside from a few minor set backs over all the meal was served very well flavor wise and over all. I give the food a 15 of 16 points.

As I mentioned before they do have quite a lot of liqours so I imagine mixed drinks are up to your imagination. The staff is quite eager and friendly, the manager stopped by our table several times to check up. He wasn't moving in the mechanical impersonal way that many chain restaurant managers wade through their stores.

My overall rating for Utsav is a 56 out of a total 64. Obtaining perfection in restaurants is very difficult but I feel Utsav is on its way to becoming one of my favorite places to eat. Utsav also does various catering, take out pre-prepared boxed lunches during lunch and buffets on the weekends.

Side Note: I went and checked out the lunch buffet with Slade today. For 8.95, pretty much 11 dollars per person with tax and tip you get an all you can eat buffet. They have various options for vegans, vegetarians and meatatarians. I highly recommend stopping in for the lunch buffet.