Indian Food in Sunnyvale, Part Two

We are still trying to explore the wonders of Indian cuisine right here in our neighborhood. In April we went to another buffet, this time to Athidhi, located in the shopping center at the corner of Wolfe and Old San Francisco Road. The address is 727 S. Wolfe Rd but the restaurant is in the strip that faces Old San Francisco. We got there at the end of the lunch time; well actually, we got there after the end of the lunch time. Their web page said lunch from 11 until 3 but that is only on weekends. Weekdays they close at 2:30. The host was gracious enough to seat us anyway, and there was still an ample quantity of delicious food.

We thoroughly enjoyed all the variety of curries and masalas and tandoori. Michael was brave enough to try the goat curry which he thought was quite yummy. The dessert choices were completely different. There was some fresh melon and a pudding but no gulab in honey sauce. There were gulab with a savory filling in the entree section. I think they had run out of dosa before we got there.

We both felt this was a good balance of spicy, a little hotter than Taste Buds, and way spicier than Ganesha. It was a much bigger buffet than Taste Buds, with an assortment of south specialties added to the mix. Again, we got fresh hot naan brought to the table. The place had several small altars and posters for a variety of gurus. It obviously has a spiritual clientele.

There was a long gap between Athidhi and our next choice, Shalimar, located on El Camino near Bernardo. We think the building used to be a Sizzler or something similar. Shalimar bills itself as Indian and Pakistani food. The parking lot was full and there was a big, fairly noisy crowd. It is NOT a buffet at lunch. They have a large menu posted on the counter with pictures of food. It would be best to go there with a group and order a variety of dishes to share. We did not think to do this and as a result had two identical entrees. Both of us ordered Saag chicken, which was basically chicken chunks in a spinach base. We also ordered naan. The chicken was delicious although it was a challenge to eat that much spinach, even dipping the naan in it. Michael liked ordering a single dish because we did not leave the restaurant stuffed as we usually do after a buffet. Next time we'll try 2 entrees. This would also be a good place to order take-out.

For those of you looking to get good deals on local restaurants, I recommend checking out Groupon. I have a coupon waiting to be used for Bombay Oven on Stevens Creek and there are frequently deals for new and newly remodeled places.