Anyone been to Taj Palace?

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Permalink Reply by Brendan on June 11, 2008 at 12:18pm

See this thread from the Chow Down in Burque Town group.

I'd love to see a writeup of the history of Indian restaurants in Albuquerque, etc. It seems that they're all run by different parts of the same family, or close friends. Not surprising considering it's a relatively small community, but a little chart of the family tree/restaurant relationship would be great.

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Permalink Reply by Phil_0 on June 11, 2008 at 12:38pm

I've only been to the lunch buffet, but it's pretty good, actually. Tasty versions of old favorites and some things you don't see elsewhere.

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Permalink Reply by Rodney on June 11, 2008 at 12:54pm

I was devastated when Bombay Grill closed. Any chance the owner(s) of the new place is associated with the old Bombay Grill?

The BG was operated by a guy who used to be at India Palace. There was some disagreement there and he left them and opened BG. Lousy location but a great ambiance with a waterfall fountain, Indian music and a slide show of photos from India, that combined with the excellent food made you feel for at least a brief instant that you might actually be on the subcontinent.

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Permalink Reply by Juan on June 11, 2008 at 1:11pm

I agree when I saw Bombay being replaced with some spot called Arte de Mano (or something like that), I was pretty sad and mad that I did not hit up Bombay before it was gone. If, by chance, this new spot is owned by the same people, then I'm there.

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Permalink Reply by Albuquerque Commentator on June 12, 2008 at 10:24am

Rasoli on Yale ( near Central ) is the same group that had Bombay Grill, at least according to the owner when I spoke with him during construction. So it is unclear to me now based on the other histories posted here what the real deal is.

The lunch buffet is a bit smaller than India Palace and different in terms of the selections, but what I have had has been very good. They also have a fairly extensive menu. I still find India Palace on Wyoming has the more extensive selection and the store is handy as well for those of us who delve into cooking our own.

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Permalink Reply by AbqIndia on June 13, 2008 at 12:38am

I think the guy you met was not the owner. There was a guy who was helping them during initial construction and he was also the manager for couple of months after they opened. He did work at Bombay Grill for some time. I am not sure if he mentioned that he was from Nairobi. He does not work there anymore.

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Permalink Reply by Albuquerque Commentator on June 13, 2008 at 8:22am

Thanks for the clarification

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Permalink Reply by Benny the Icepick on June 11, 2008 at 1:29pm

I've only been once, but it was enjoyable; good food and pleasant atmosphere. Strange, though, I was the only person in the entire restaurant.

Also, Rodney, from what I understand the BG people are operating Rasoi (Yale & Central, south of McDonald's), and it shows. Good stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Phil_0 on June 12, 2008 at 9:52am

I loooove Rasoi. Delicious, with a lot of variety you don't always see in NM Indian places. I know you're veg, Benny (and thus I'm sure you've tried their great malai kofta), but carnivores should sample their jheenga goa (shrimp cooked in a coconut milk-based curry) and chicken do piazza (tandoori-cooked chicken breast stir-fried with tomatoes, onions and spices).

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Permalink Reply by mombat on June 11, 2008 at 1:50pm

I didn't make it, but my co-workers all went to lunch at Rasoi last week and really enjoyed it. It is a diverse group of eaters and if everyone is happy it is usually a good reccomendation.

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Permalink Reply by AbqIndia on June 12, 2008 at 8:34am

Brendan gives me a great idea, I know a lot about the Indian restaurants here in Albuquerque. I will work on writing a small article about history of Indian restaurants in Albuquerque.

Some more information :
- Rasoi is not run by the same people Bombay Grill(BG). The chef at Rasoi worked at BG for about six months that is the only connection. Rasoi owners are not related to BG or any other Restaurant in town.

- Rodney is right the guy operating BG, I an guessing he he talking about a guy named Tony, used to work at India Palace, Wyoming but he was only the manager. India Palace, Wyoming was Owned by three people one of them was the chef who used to own about 25% and bought rest of the share from the other two to be the sole owner of India Palace, Wyoming. This happened almost 7-8 years back. Now the other owners still own India Palace in Santa Fe which is even older than the one on Albuqueruqe. BG was started by the Santa Fe owner of India Palace almost 4 years later.
and at the same time after 6 months the chef who owned India Palace, Wyoming opened another India Palace exactly opposite to BG near the Sunflower Market on Alameda. India Palace, Wyoming was sold to the owners of India House(Santa Fe) couple of years back.

Taj Palace is owned by a guy named Manjeet who used to be the Manager at India Palace, Wyoming and also worked at BG for some time.

I was trying to give some insight and I hope this didn't create more confusion.

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Permalink Reply by Brendan on June 12, 2008 at 10:45am

Hey AbqIndia, keep the info coming! Also curious about India House in SF and what ever happened to Shalimar and Punjab House.

When we lived in the foothills we'd have lunch at Shalimar twice a week- the last time we were there they said they'd be closed for a couple weeks while they went to India for a wedding- then they never came back. I was devastated, but lost a few pounds as a result ;-)

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