Sunday, September 25, 2005

Mela Indian Restaurant

Last night, we ate at Mela, the new Indian restaurant on Lexington. I have three words to describe the food: yum, yum, yum.

How long, o, how long have we been waiting for good Indian food to make its debut in downtown Asheville? Way too long, folks. Way too long.

So, Mela: great atmosphere, gorgeous decor, delicious food, serious bar (Allagash White on tap--mmmmmmm). Only caveats: it's hip, which means crowded and loud (I like, but it was too much for my slightly deaf mom-in-law); still working out service kinks, in that service was, initially, too slow, then too fast, as three people tried to whisk my plate away BEFORE I finished eating.

Supposedly, the time to go is for the $6.95 buffet lunch: a huge sampler wafting of cardamon and curry.

I forgot to pick up a menu, so I'm just going to throw out some words for you--words that you can roll on your tongue, drool over, practically smell: Tikka Masala, Rhogan Josh, Tandoori, Vindaloo, Pakora, Naan.

Now I need to go walk five miles to appease Shiva.

9 comments:

car said...

Hey, we went to Mela last night as well and reported the experience on by blog. Had a little different take on the place than you did however.

Jim Jenkins said...

Excellent! Thank you for the tip Edgy. My curry loving, vegetarian daughter will be thrilled to hear about this. Taking her out to the lunch buffet will win me big daddy points.

Sweet Tea said...

Yum! I've been wanting to try something new! There aren't many choices of Indian restaurants around here.

We usually make the familiar choice of sushi, a pretty safe bet for parents without a sitter.

MtnStyle said...

They also have Left Hand Beers yum

car said...

Well, good luck at Mela's don't say I didn't warn you when you find out you don't get Chutney with the meal, the Nann is horrible and certainly nothing like what is served in India or any other Indian-American Restaurant. Many of the diners are inedible. The best thing are the appetizers and the Tandoori dishes which are excellent. Otherwise don't expect anything but disappointing service, presentation, and food! The very best thing about Melas is that they are displacing filthy hippy shops with a more upscale look and tourist location. Hopefully downtown Lexington queer filthy hippy street will now start displacing the nasty shops with Macy, Hermes, Starbucks and other great shopping experiences soon!

mygothlaundry said...

I really liked Mela but I didn't try to eat any of the diners so maybe that was the problem. I generally do try to munch one or two of the patrons given half a chance but Mela?! Too much choice there. But then I'm a queer filthy hippy, myself, so go figure.

Johnny Lemuria said...

You're a funny, funny man, car.

Edgy Mama said...

Go get him, gothlaundry!

Car, car, car, what's with the chutney obsession? Go to Ingle's and buy yourself a nice little jar of Major Grey's and you can carry your own condiments around with you.

And how did I miss you on Saturday night? The only folks I saw sitting at the bar were hip, rather clean, yippie-types.

car said...

Umm, let me think about that Edgy Women
You reviewed a new restaurant but forgot what you ate, forgot to pick up a menu so you just threw out some generic words, and you forgot who was sitting at the bar.
Wait I've got it! Can you say Crack Smoke?