Eating Around the World - 2022 "Challenge" [January - Indian]

I came up with a fun "challenge" for the hubby and I to tackle in 2022. You see, we try and limit our eating out to once a week (because I'm frugal like that ;)). With that said, we tend to stick to our tried-and-true favorites (you gotta make the most of those dining-out experiences, right?!). Well, that means we usually eat at the same two restaurants. Hear me out, I am NOT complaining, but I thought it might be a fun "challenge" for the year to try a new place once a month. To take the idea one step further, I thought we could try a different cuisine every month - that way we aren't just trying a new Mexican restaurant every month (because, let's be real, I can never turn down great chips and salsa ;)). Here's how it went:

[Originally this was going to be a single post, but blog readers said they preferred monthly, so ask and you shall receive.] 

January - Indian

We decided on a new-to-us restaurant in Carlsbad, Taste of the Himalayas. The reviews on Yelp looked awesome, so we figured we'd give it a try. When we arrived (around 5pm on a Saturday) it was pretty empty. It seemed like everyone was doing take-out (not sure if this is the norm or more of a recent phenomenon due to COVID), so we had the place almost to ourselves. (Note: By the time we left it had filled up a bit more, so maybe we had just beaten the dinner crowd/ rush.)

I am a HUGE fan of mushrooms, so when I saw the Mushroom Tikka Masala on the menu I instantly gravitated towards it (#RealTalk - I don't know that I have had Indian before, so I was very out of my element and didn't know what anything was. I asked our server about vegan options and she told us that the veggie section could all be made vegan.) I opted for a 2 on the spicy level (I'm a pretty big wimp when it comes to spice) and was very happy with that choice. Since I had never had this dish I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. As the name says, it was mushrooms (hehe), but not much else. Although it was yummy, it felt like it was missing something - maybe another veggie or another layer of spices or herbs. Again, everything was great, but I think next time I'd order something else. PS Both of us ordered our entrees vegan.

I do my best to eat as vegan as possible, but sometimes when we go out to eat (or eat at friends), I give myself wiggle room/ grace
and will partake in dairy. For me, it's about being conscious about my decisions, not being overly militant about it.

The hubby ordered the Narwaratan Korma (after the suggestion of our server) with a spice level of 4. He loved the coconutty flavor and all of the veggies. He said next time he might go up to a level 5, but otherwise it was delicious. He said he'd be totally fine with ordering it again, but would love exploring more of the menu too. As you can see from the pictures, we did order the Garlic Herbal Naan (NOT vegan) and it was yummy! We could've had another order or three ;)

PS I realize I am NOT a food blogger and the pictures might not be great, but I do my best ;)

The house lentil soup (I believe it was Daal soup, but I'm not certain since it was "on the house" and our sweet server just said it was a vegan lentil soup) that came before the meal was also scrum-didily-umptious. I could've had a big bowl with naan and been a happy camper. (I'm thinking I need to try to make some - it seemed super easy and was DELISH!)

Okay, okay, it might not look like much, but it was so good!

The hubby and I were super stoked to have tried this new-to-us place and will definitely be back to try more of the menu. 

When was the last time you tried a new-to-you restaurant?