When I wrote about the secrets of a restaurant critic last year, I neglected to mention one essential job requirement: a cast-iron stomach. Not only do I rarely have digestive upsets, but when I do get a flu, it's always the respiratory kind.
Not that I enjoy that kind, mind you, and it tends to last longer than the other, but at least -- once the initial misery has passed -- I can eat. And even enjoy it.
Which is how it was with the flu from hell a few weeks ago. Once I emerged from the fog, I wanted sustenance, but there was no way I could leave the house to seek it. It had to come to me, which started me on my quest for restaurants that deliver, and I found the following three, all takeout and delivery operations.
At Rasoi it is possible to snack at three high, bar-type tables, but the food is primarily intended for at-home eating. Also, as it happens, the Indian specialties are mostly the kind that hold up well in transit. Not only that, the portions are generous, at prices that are astonishingly low, with most entrees from $4.99 to $8.99. There's even better value among the combos: $4.99 for chickpea curry, rice, a vegetable samosa and a canned drink; $5.99 for two pieces of tandoori chicken, a naan, vegetable samosa and canned drink; or $6.50 for butter chicken, rice, vegetable samosa and canned drink.
There's an added bonus if your need, like mine, is based on recuperation from the flu -- such commonly used spices as turmeric and coriander are said to be natural antibiotics, and many of the other spices could go a long way toward clearing your sinuses. For most of us, though, it's taste that counts, and Rasoi comes through with food that is fresh, flavourful and as spicy-hot as you want it to be. Medium is usually my speed, but my order could have been upped to medium-hot without causing any pain, so if you like yours really hot, ask them to kick it up a notch or three.
The samosas are terrific bargains at 75 cents, filled with potatoes and peas; 99 cents with meat. More to the point, they are excellent -- big triangles of crisp, greaseless pastry with generous fillings. Another personal favourite is aloo tikki at 99 cents each -- grilled potato patties, lightly spiced with cumin and coriander.
If you shy away from spices, your best bet might be one of the milder kormas, in a silken, cream-rich sauce studded with cashews -- a good buy with such main ingredients as beef, lamb, chicken, an even better buy with shrimp, at least 10 of them, not huge but plump and juicy. Also on the mild side were slightly gingery butter chicken and -- somewhat tangier from its spiced yogurt marinade -- pieces of tandoori chicken. For more spice, both lamb curry in a hearty tomato-based sauce, and bhoona beef, stir-fried with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and peppers, were tender, hearty and satisfying.
Some of the city's best Indian pastries are made here ($1 each). There are fudge-like burfis in a variety of flavours (some made without sugar), but if you must choose only one, make it the incredible multi-layered, honeyed patisa, which manages to both crunch and melt in your mouth simultaneously.
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The White House on Grant is miles, and 30-odd years, away from its Selkirk Avenue origins, and these days the ribs are for takeout or delivery only. But those meaty bones in that sassy barbecue sauce still spell messy, atavistic comfort to me -- firm yet tender, moist, and a good buy too, with one pound at $14.50, three-quarters of a pound at $12.50, one-and-a-half pounds at $21.25, and a four-pound family special at $48.50.
Fries are included, but the one-time skinny glories were left behind on Selkirk. These are dry and tasteless. The cole slaw, however, is still tangy and delicious -- good enough to order extra at $3.25 a pound. The only other meat option is baked chicken in barbecue sauce, but unless cholesterol is a problem, better to stick with the ribs. The chicken has no intrinsic flavour, and the sauce tastes like an afterthought that was smeared on at the last minute (three pieces $6.50, four $7.50, six $11).
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Several readers swear by Kai Ping, and several years ago I did have a marvellous delivered meal. I have yet to repeat that experience, but on my last order there were, if no fireworks, some satisfying dishes in generous portions at reasonable prices (most entrees from $7.75 to $9.95).
The wontons were mostly dough -- if you don't pay attention you might miss the filling -- but the chicken broth they came in had a rich, restorative flavour. On the other hand, although the wrapping for pan-fried dumplings was thick, the filling was generous and tasty. Mooshi chicken, with hot, soft crepes, was also acceptable.
One of the better entrees was eggplant with minced pork zingily sauced with soy, vinegar, garlic and chili; I also liked the Shanghai chow mien of fat, fresh noodles with shreds of pork and cabbage. However, crispy beef in spicy honey sauce wasn't very spicy, and the beef tasted dry and reheated, and shrimp in lobster sauce, although made with good, juicy shrimp, was awash in an indeterminate sauce and overwhelmed by masses of peas and diced carrots.
Note: the correct phone number for les Jasmins de la Tunisie is 231-8308.
marion.warhaft@freepress.mb.ca
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