Copper Chimney

About a month ago, Foodeater wrote about an Indian restaurant called Copper Chimney. I love Indian food, but rarely eat at Indian restaurants because I'm wary of getting a belly full of ghee. So, when Foodeater mentioned that Copper Chimney has a clearly marked vegan section of their menu, I knew I had to eat there as soon as possible. The Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving was my first opportunity.

A vegetarian friend and I took our sweet time poring over the menu, having eschewed the mostly un-vegetarian lunch buffet.



Our sweet waitress started us with this complimentary trio of chutney and pappadam. I probably would've walked away completely satisfied if this had been my only lunch. I especially loved the chutney at the top right, which was a spicy mix of crunchy veggies and garlic cloves. Moving counter-clockwise, I could detect coconut, cilantro, and chili pepper in the green chutney that was similar to salsa verde. I believe the third was a tamarind-based chutney, as it was sweet and smooth, but it also might have been mango chutney. The pappadam were crispy and flavorful, albeit a bit too thin to withstand the weight of the veggie and green chutneys.



My friend ordered Papad Roll for an appetizer (from the menu: Lightly spiced mashed potatoes stuffed inside thin lentil wafer, deep fried.) and I tried one. It was the only part of the meal I didn't enjoy. The flavor of the pappadam and the potatoes was lost in the frying, I believe. All I could really taste was fried food and I'm not a fan of fried food.



We shared the Samber Soup (from the menu: A Southern Indian style lentil soup with fresh vegetables.). It was very good and perfectly spiced.



My entree was Dal Lashooni (from the menu: Mixed dal cooked with exotic spices and garnished with garlic flakes.). I detected mung beans, two types of lentils, and kidney beans in this dish, which was basically an Indian-spiced chili. If I were to order this again, I'd order it with rice, but this time, I went for chapati (from the menu: Thinly rolled whole wheat baked bread.). I only say "if" because I'm really looking forward to sampling the other vegan dishes on the menu. There has already been a return visit to Copper Chimney! I'll blog about that later.



I just spent about 6 days in the Bay Area starting the day after Thanksgiving, which is why I haven't blogged about Thanksgiving yet and why you haven't seen many of my comments on your blogs. When I got back yesterday, I had 209 new entries on my Reader! I have my work cut out for me.