While staying in my temporary accommodations, I have a certain budget allocated to cover my food expenses. It is very difficult to spend this if I only cook my own meals, so I have taken advantage by ordering delivery from time to time. On Sunday night, while 4 inches of snow fell on top of the 6 inches from earlier that day, I decided to try ordering Indian food from the second of the two Indian restaurants that deliver in Burlington, Massachusetts. I had ordered from Gourmet India my first night in town, and ordered from Ambassador this time. (I was actually craving Mexican food, but there doesn't seem to be delivery for that in Burlington, and I figured ordering from a different Indian place would make this a "project" instead of a "rut"...)
I went with both Saag Paneer and Chicken Korma again for the sake of comparison, and also ordered a non-vegetarian appetizer combo (featuring cumin pappadum, chicken pakoras, fish pakoras, some type of tasty red meat hunks, tandoori chicken, and a beef samosa), as well as some naan. Everything tasted great, but I think I will go back to Gourmet India for my next foray into Indian food here in Burlington for a couple reasons... The prices at the two restaurants are markedly different, but so are the serving sizes. You pay about $5 more per entree at Ambassador, but get twice as much of what you order so the value for your money is probably a wash. What I like about less expensive smaller servings is that I can order more items without ending up with $80 of food that will last me 4 meals... I also like that Gourmet India let me choose between basmati rice or naan with each entree, whereas at Ambassador the basmati was mandatory and you have to pay $3.95 per piece of naan.
The samosas and naan were very good in both restaurants, with a slight edge going to Gourmet India for hooking me up the naan for no extra charge. The Saag Paneer at Ambassador (above, right) had a lot more paneer in it than the serving I got from Gourmet India (above, left), but I actually just order Saag for the spinach (not the cheese) so that didn't win it any points. The spicing differed between the two, but both were delicious in their own awesome spinach-y way. so I'll call that one a tie. Thus, it came down to the Korma... The chicken was more tender in the Ambassador version, but I definitely preferred the seasoning in the Gourmet India Korma (which is one of the better versions of this dish that I've had in a restaurant in America).
So, there you have it: For reasons of pricing, free naan, and kick-ass Chicken Korma, the award for Best Indian Restaurant That Delivers to Emily's Hotel in Burlington is... Gourmet India! I highly recommend checking them out next time you find yourself at a hotel in Burlington...
In other news, apartment-hunting went pretty well over the long weekend (despite the fact that I was snowed in on Sunday), and I may even have found the prefect place for a kid like me. I should find out by the end of the week if it's all that I think it is (it was pretty much gutted when I saw it, in preparation for installing new flooring throughout and granite counters in the kitchen), but I'm pretty excited... One of the best features? It's pet-friendly! I am SO adopting me a bonded pair of rabbits as soon as I get moved in... or maybe I'll just start with the adorable little lionhead pictured above (a male named "Crystal" for some reason... we're going to have to work on that...). Keeping my fingers crossed that things work out...
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