Novato hasn't had an Indian restaurant since the early 1990s when an unassuming little curry house located in the commercial space at Grant and Reichert closed its doors due to the town's "atta" apathy and lentil lethargy.
Which makes the presence of "Anokha"--a Hindi word for "unique"--something of an understatement below the hills of Olompali. The scent of fenugreek alone will be enough to raise the eyebrows of the suburban hordes staggering from DeBorba's weeknight happy hour in search of their alehouse antivenin.
Anokha's been curing the curry cravings of the county since the summer; it's one of the latest restaurant ventures of Pal Sroa, whose Lotus Cuisine in San Rafael and Cafe Lotus in Fairfax have masala-ed Marin to the delight of a devoted curry-customer base. (Surinder's empire has now extended to Novato's Old Town Bistro, formerly Golden Egg Omelet House, and Zeba home furnishings in San Rafael.)
As much as we like Sroa's other Lotus blossoms, Anokha could be the cream of the crop, or paneer of the saag if you prefer. (Frankly, of the handful of Indian eateries in Marin, all are pretty darn good.)
The small-sized dining room of Anokha is bright and airy with floral-printed carpets and small flourishes of the restaurant's Northern Indian influence scattered through the mustard-colored room. On both of our visits we lucked out with the corner table, which features cushioned seats along the window--great for people watching, both inside and out.
First and foremost, Anokha passes our "bottom line" trio of musts for Indian restaurants--the naan was light and buttery, the curries weren't greasy and our order of "rice for the table" was enough for the table. (This last one was a close call.) After that, it came down to the flavor of the curries ($11 to $14), and all hit the mark. Favorites were the Dal Makhni (lentils with a kick) and the Goa (strong taste of cod offset by a mild coconut-based curry). We also had a couple of standards--tikka and saag curries (chicken and lamb, respectively)--and Anokha's were as good as any in Marin and just spicy enough to keep our mouths watering.
Our veggie samosa starters ($4.50) were mixed; our initial visit found the crusts hardened, but the next time, these potato dumplings were light and flaky and matched wonderfully with the accompanying mint sauce. The chicken pakoras (white meat fried in chickpea flour, $5) were gone in seconds, for good reason. If you're ordering starters you may as well shill the extra $3 for the appetizer-combo platter, it's worth it (and ask for extra tamarind sauce). Naan is a must, and a simple garlic order ($4) should do the trick. (We tried the Keema naan--bread stuffed with ground lamb--and found it to be like eating a sandwich before the main course; it probably would've been fine if we were simply there for a light bowl of dal.)
Tandooris are $11 to $15; the daily buffet lunch is $9.
Anokha's a fine addition to the Marin food scene--and a desperately needed Indian restaurant in Novato. We're hoping its curries leave 'em salivating for a long time.
What do you get when you pour boiling water down a rabbit hole? Hot cross bunnies! Right about now this old joke is circulating the entire United Kingdom as Easter approaches and with it, those ever popular hot cross buns. (Actually, in recent times, the baked goods have such a following that they now appear year-round in some places.) But proper hot cross buns are tough to find in the U.S. They should be a lightly spiced yeast bread, replete with dried fruit, just the right amount of good quality candied citrus peel and topped by a pastry (not frosting) cross. To my delight, I discovered some just like these at Il Fornaio in Corte Madera. They will be on sale until Easter, cost 99 cents apiece and should be ordered two full business days in advance. Call 415/927-4400 to order.
