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Recession Obsession: A Great New Indian Spot
The Dinner Special Featuring Lots of Delicious Stuff I Can't Name.
A Recession Obsession is, 1) a meal so great that it sticks in your mind long after digestion's end, and, 2) plays nice with your sensitive wallet. Is there a better place than Los Angeles to eat a wide variety of amazing food that so happens to be inexpensive? Probably not. We're as lucky as we are well fed. We last obsessed over Sky's Gourmet Tacos, and had Valley Costa Rican. Today, we obsess...
Los Angeles gets a lot of crap for the cuisines in which we don’t specialize. (I label such shittalkers: enemies.)
Do we have an amazing pizzeria on every corner? Ha. Good one. Can you find amazing Chinese food in Hollywood? Again, nope. You’ll have to venture east. Does our selection of Indian food rival that of Mumbai (don’t say Bombay?) Again, not exactly. (Stop all the whiny questions please!)
But when it comes to Indian, I am now satisfied, and cracking a half-smile just thinking about it. That’s thanks to a new fast-but-not-too-fast-food joint its owner called the “Indian Subway.” I’m not sure if that’s fitting, but you definitely won’t run into Jared eating a five dollar foot long. But you might run into me eating an $8 lunch/dinner special.
Its all-vegetarian food’s amazing, and rather convenient; Culver City’s Bawarchi is LAist’s latest Recession Obsession.
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Motor to Venice & Motor
While I may be able to talk for days (or at least fake it) about the nuances of Mexican cuisine, you can fill what all I know about Indian food in a Twitter message. The 140 characters would probably read: “Thumbs up,” or, “Thumbs down.”
I know that I love Bawarchi. Thumbs way up.
It’s a very clean dining room that won’t leave your clothes smelling like many other Indian restaurants I’ve attended. The food reflects that too. It tastes clean and not full of overpowering spices. This menu's as chef-driven as any fast-food joint I've encountered (sorry American Subway.)
The Dinner Special is not only a deal, but it gives you a taste from the various corners of Bawarchi’s menu. Pick a bread (garlic nann, plain naan, or tawa roti,) rice (steamed saffron basmati rice, basmati pilau rice,) and three dishes from the buffet. It also comes with shai raita, a garden salad, and pappadum. (I won’t pretend to know what all of this stuff is, but I ate them all.)
The glassed-off buffet is only accessible to the shockingly-friendly staff who will very kindly help you through your three selections. This place seems pretty popular already, so I wouldn’t worry about anything having sat out for too long. I’ve been twice and can’t wait for my third trip. While I’d love to recommend certain dishes, I’ve engaged in the point-and-delight method and it's worked wonderfully. Go for it.
The free water, either infused with lime or lemon, helps keep your meal under $10. And that’s a price their happy to collect when you’re one ordering or at meal’s end. They're easy. And Bawarchi is easy... easy to return to.
- Bawarchi Indian Kitchen | Venice and Motor | 10408 Venice Blvd | Culver City 90232 | (310) 836-8525
Photos by Caleb Bacon (Twitter) for LAist
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Where do you get your Indian fix? Comment Below!
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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