FOOD .

Tandoor Number One

Callowhill Street just got a little spicier.


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Published: Aug 5, 2008

In The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie cripples his protagonist with Werner Syndrome, a disorder that causes him to age two years for every single trip through the calendar. King of Tandoor appears to suffer from a form of this disorder — judging from its Web site, at least. Right above a photo of a banner heralding the restaurant's grand opening, a line of text claims, "We've been in business for over 10 years."

As a matter of record, King of Tandoor is a new addition on a block of new additions to Fairmount. (The "10 years" refers to owner Mohammed Islam's time running Indian restaurants in New York City.) The Indian newcomer serves lunch and dinner on tables draped with white cloths that are cold to the touch — the place is an AC fanatic's dream.

It's tempting to stretch the accelerated-aging metaphor all the way to the kitchen, which sticks to classics that dominate Stateside Indian restaurant food. But there's nothing tired about King of Tandoor's renditions. Happily, Islam's place has set its sights higher than most eateries.

At about $12 each, lunch boxes aren't bargain eating, but they are a pleasant alternative to Tiffin's more homestyle offerings. Mine burst with the aromas of cracked star anise and whole cardamom pods. And though I've always agreed with Alice Waters on green bell peppers — there's no excuse to pick them before they turn red — the ones in my chicken curry argued strongly for jettisoning that dogma.

That curry was totally different from a dinner order of chicken shagoti, whose spicy gravy coalesced around a purée of coconut meat. And that, in turn, offered a contrast to the thin sauce bathing lamb dumpakht, which arrived in a ceramic dish crowned by a puff pastry inflated by trapped steam. Bhindi masala was a surprise favorite — the okra flavorful but not at all slimy.

The flavors at King of Tandoor come through with a clarity too often lacking in mid-range Indian food. Handsomely presented in hammered-metal bowls by friendly servers, this food should have little trouble attracting a following in this neighborhood.

But perhaps it already has. After all, at the current rate, its 20th anniversary would seem to be right around the corner.

(t_popp@citypaper.net)