H-Ind-Talian food, Himalayan Cuisine

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog about food and Cathy is here again today. I have been having strange food cravings this summer. I vacillate between Indian and Mediterranean food.  Some days I want both. Little did I know that this new restaurant was opening... Special thanks to Kirk for the title.  It is descriptive.

Hi.  So, anyhow, it's Thursday at 4 a.m. 

I go outside to get the paper.        

Say good morning to Fricassee, the cottontail who seems to be living in my front yard, and start to read.

I get to the "East County Dining" section.

"Himalayan Cuisine.

Indian and Italian Food."

huh??!!?

You know, the coffee wasn't ready yet.  I started thinking to myself "so this is why you can't win at Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit...you know nothing of geography"...

There I was thinking Italy and India were, like, two continents apart.  How can these two types of food and cooking possibly be served in the same restaurant?

We had to. Oh, yes we had to.  The place smells heavenly when you walk in the door.

Meat samosa ($1.62).

Crust was excellent. Meat and fillings (celery, peas, carrots)fresh.  Not very spicy.  Unfortunately my least favorite item, but not bad.

The three item combo - choose from what was on the steam tray ($7.99) Chicken tikka masala-excellent.  Spicy chicken curry-nice heat and still the ability to taste all flavors. Turmeric, cumin, onion, cinnamon and ginger stood out, but there were more.

A lot of chicken meat in both. Excellent basmati rice.

The third item was meat lasagna-excellent.  Cheesy as well as meaty with a good tomato sauce.  There is a photo of the intact samosa.

The three item combination comes with rice and fresh made naan. Fresh made.

Cheese calzone ($5.99)

Whatever oven they use to make the naan, they use for the pizza and calzone.  The crust is sweet, crunchy and chewy.  The fillings are cheeses (Mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan) fresh made, tomato-y sauce. There is a meat lover and pepperoni calzone available as well-same price.

Chicken biyrani ($6.99).

Really really good, fresh made (not on the steam tray).  Buttery (with ghee) rice, nice heat level, at least three chicken thighs. 

Shown with the naan and raita (yogurt sauce-with cucumbers and carrots).

The owners are very nice, friendly, efficient and professional.  The seating area is small (6 booths, 3 tables).  They make both cuisines quite well.   The website states they are trying to make healthy foods and touts the benefits of the Indian spices, as well as the healthy aspects of the Italian foods and the many vegetarian products available.

The food is extremely fresh and high quality and plentiful.  It's in East County-close to home and my cravings!

Himalayan Cuisine-Indian and Italian food 7918 El Cajon Boulevard, #P (between the 99cent Only store and Burlington Coat Factory) La Mesa 91941 (619)461-2503 M-Sat 11-9, Sun 11-7

website  The website has coupons!

Comments

[Alex]

Anyword on whether they serve Nepalese specialties - given the name? I checked the menu and couldn't find any.

[nhbilly]

I'm so hungry and I learned something new, ghee.

[sharon]

I chuckled a little bit when I saw that sign, but your photos look so tasty that it's probably worth a try.

[Cathy]

That's the menu, Alex. There is a great poster of Mt Everest (or whatever they renamed it) inside. But Indian and Italian food only..and then the gyros and philly cheese steak...nothing Nepalese. What they do make, they make very well.
Yay Bill! Now that word of the day assignment is done.
It is very much worth a try, Sharon. I found the food to be of great quality. It satisfies so many cravings.

[janfrederick]

Wow, what's next? Mexican and French? I would have said French and Vietnamese....but...uh....that idea's been taken already. ;)

[Cathy]

I don't know why they combined these cuisines, JF...maybe because of the location/demographics. The food here is quite good quality is all I know and it truly satisfies my cravings. It works.

[jeff c]

Cathy, wow, you really know where to find delicious deals. The tikka masala looked great and the biryana was good too. A calzone with a samosa, haha. Thats international eating.
What contrasting cuisine, Italian and Indian. THey need to do a Mango Lassi and then do a Italian CHocolate drink to make it truly great.

[Esteban]

That's one of strangest cuisine-combo's I've seen. Maybe it's because when they were trying to buy the letters for their signage out front, the store only had I,A,N,D,L,T in stock. Because Italian & Italian cuisine sounds pretty repetitive.

[RONW]

nonetheless, food for thought. The Indian oven must work well for pizzas.

[ed (from Yuma)]

Whodda thunk such a thing? We have a restaurant out here that used to claim it served Chinese, Mandarin, Thai, Asian, Mexican, and American food. But no how no way, Italian and Indian.

Isn't there a place doing Greek and Mexican food somewhere out in East County?

Anyway, thanks for the report.

[Cathy]

Jeff C-They do make a great mango lassi ($2.49) and masala chai ($1.99), no Italian-ish beverages though...As soon as I saw the ad, I knew I had to do a post.
Brilliant, Esteban! That must be it. Yeah...strange combination of cusines...
I am guessing it's a pizza oven being used to make nann, Ron. I just don't recall this being a pizza place in a prior reincarnation. Maybe they got a deal.

[Cathy]

Hey, ed! Yeah, as soon as I saw the ad, I had to go and try. It is wonderfully excellent. The ad today notes "5 Star Indian Chef". The only thing I can think of is making vegetarian Italian helps that part of the menu...Thing is the Italian is excellent also. Elsa's Kitchen used to do Mexican and Greek, primarily because of the guy cooking there...but the last few times, I only saw the wonderful burgers as the oddball item on the menu.

[Ed]

Sorta reminds me of the "Mom's Chinese Food and Donuts To Go" restaurant they poked fun at during the spoof "Cleveland's Next Top Model"...

[Cathy]

There is a chinese fast food place that makes donuts out here, ed...Guess I gotta take another one for the team, eh? Apparently that deep fry thingy. ANYHOW, I just got an email from Souplantation (Club Veg) and from Aug 17-31 they are featuring 'a Journey to Mexico' and chipotle focaccia...

[foodhoe]

I love the post title and the 50% off sounds excellent too! That is an odd sounding combination of culture and tastes, but something I'd love to try!

[Cathy]

The 50% off made it crazy cheap, FH. That was just for the first 4 days of opening...but I don't think the prices are bad, especiallywith the quality of food. I don't get the cultural crossover -at all- but I know it is excellent flavored food, no matter the cuisine.