Mandeville Dining Gets Exotic

Mantra, the popular Metairie Indian restaurant has just moved into the space that formerly housed a passing favorite restaurant of mine. Most people were not as enamored of Desi Vega’s Smokehouse Tavern as I was, so the owners pivoted to Desi Vega’s Steakhouse before leaving the building entirely. I was curious to see what the Mantra owners had done with this glamorous space. It remains glamorous, in an Indian way. It is clear this is a classy Indian restaurant.

It is often said that London has the best Indian food in the world, and I believe that to be true. The few times I have had Indian food there it has been more interesting and far superior to anything I have had here. To be truthful, I haven’t had a lot of Indian food here. It is not a cuisine I crave.

When I went into Mantra for lunch recently, I was advised of a lunch buffet. Since I had no idea of what I might want to eat, this was welcome news. The buffet is set up in a cove in the rear of the main dining room, in a space that was the open kitchen of the Smokehouse. It is a large selection of varied dishes presented beautifully. Plenty of choices. I had no idea what most of these items were, but I was game to try them.

I tried a few saucy things from a separate salad bar, which looked a lot like a regular salad bar, except for the unusual saucy items.

Then I made my way across this sprawling buffet, taking pictures of each of the items so I could look it up. There were a couple of Paneer dishes which I generally like. Of course there were two kinds of rice, basic Basmati, and a rice pilaf. And a number of chicken dishes. Lentils, of course, and a few things I’ve never seen. I was surprised how few straight vegetable dishes were on this line. There were about twenty dishes offered on this line, all set into beautiful chafing dishes. 

At $18 it is a great way to try different things and familiarize yourself with this exotic cuisine. My plate displayed my skepticism about this unknown food, with a series of things in portions of mere tablespoons. In pinwheel fashion starting at the bottom, on the place wasStarting at the bottom was the white Basmati rice, then. the rice pilaf, chunks of Chicken Korma, Chicken Curry, and Chicken tikka masala, a little square of the Saag Paneer, Aloo gohbi, the garlic Naan, the lentils, the Kabab and a drumstick of Tandoori chicken in the center. I went back for more Tandoori chicken and a few more chnks of tikka masala and the Korma.

There was no Biryani on the line, which was disappointing. The Indian version of jambalaya is always a welcome sight for me. I knew Chicken Korma and Chicken Curry, and of course Tandoori Chicken, and Chicken tikka masala. The Saag Paneer was fine. Paneer reminds me of Halloumi, though it is only cottage cheese, and Halloumi is “real” cheese. Paneer shares textural qualities with tofu as well. It was cooked in a loose mixture of leafy greens. I was a little disappointed in the lentils, which I expected to be sensational. Makhani Dal is a combination of black lentils and red kidney beans originating in Northern India. This too was a little soupy. Also on the buffet was Aloo gobhi, a sort of stew of potato chunks and pieces of cauliflower that gets its color from turmeric. I liked this pretty well.

A crispy kebab was at the front of the line. Hara Bhara Kabab was not shaped as it usually is. This one was tubular rather than a round disc, with its typical vegetarian filling of spinach, potatoes and peas.

I was happy to see Tandoori chicken, which is essentially  yogurt-marinated chicken pieces colored red with Kashmiri chili powder and roasted in a hot oven that in old Indian was heated by cow dung. Not a worry any Western country, but it’s still delicious with its characteristic char.

Chicken Korma is braised in yogurt and stock, and cut in chunks. It’s a nice dish with a thickish sauce and is not especially spicy. This is good, and it goes well with various rice dishes.

I wasn’t crazy about the chicken curry, but the Chicken tikka masala was nice. All of these chicken dishes are great with the rice dishes.

The only non-vegeterian protein on this buffet was Amritsari Fish Pakora, little pieces of flaky white fish marinated in spices and fried crispy. This was similar in every way to something you would get off a seafood platter.

The Naan here was garlic Naan. This was the not the best version of the essential Indian “bread ” I've had, but it was fine. 

But what was next to the Naan was the most interesting thing here. There were two dishes side by side. One was a carrot souffle, though that is a promotion for this dish, and the other looked like tiny meatballs. 

I left after eating mostly creamy chicken dishes, with a heaping helping of rice, though it wasn’t all that much. Even with tiny tasting portions od this food, There was a lot of food to eat. I left feeling like I had stolen this taste of India. At only $18, it was great way to explore the possibilities, though there is plenty more to try.

I left passing the bar, which is completely different from the Desi Vega days, but still glamorous. Mantra is a lovely place with interesting food. It seems that Mandeville has been waiting for it.