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The Dining Guide Best Neighborhood Bistros Standout 2007
By Karen Brooks
Published: June 15, 2007
The Oregonian
From our conventional wisdom department: Vindalho, 2005: White guys can't cook Indian food. What're they thinking? Vindalho, 2007: Smart, gutsy, food-savvy. How do I get in?
Eighteen months ago restaurant pro and Portuguese-American David Machado broke from his successful Mediterranean formula at Lauro Kitchen, hit the Indian cookbooks and opened an upscalish restaurant in a scruffy neighborhood. But suddenly, Vindalho is buzzing. Always good, it's suddenly an essential destination. The silverware gleams, a back bar serves up Pink Floyds, and Northwest ingredients beam from the blackboard. Sure, you're a million miles from Mumbai, not to mention that great little curry dive. But what you love about Indian food mouthfuls of tingly, complex flavors; lusty chutneys for tinkering; pillows of hot naan bread are found here, along with terrific service and a well-curated little wine list. The knowing crowds are coming and so are the Indian families. The smallish menu focuses on the tandoori-centric cooking of the north, and the food is more spicy than hot. But nearly everything is tasty, and the Portuguese-influenced Goan dishes are flying: super-tender pork vindalho full of chile-vinegar sensations, and mussels steeped in tamarind and coconut milk, then shrouded with coconut. More Goan, southern options and family-style suppers are in the works, and that can only be a good thing.
Eat and drink: Hot, salty, addictive sweet onion rings in chickpea batter; pork vindalho; Goan-style mussels; tender lamb boti kebab marinated overnight in Nancy's yogurt; naan with spiced paneer cheese; chutney sampler drawn from nine options; dark chocolate and banana samosas. Forget beer the wines are carefully chosen.
Why Vindalho stands out this year: Chef de cuisine David Anderson is a real comer, and he's just winding up.
Reality check: This is Indian food. Do you really need a blackboarded Northwest fish or the price tags that come with it?
Note: $$
Web site: www.vindalho.com
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