Dinner at Chola

Tonight we met for dinner after work at Chola (on 58th near 3rd Avenue), an establishment that promises eclectic Indian dining.

We arrived at about 7:15, and found surprisingly brisk business for a Tuesday night. We were seated close to the center of the main dining area, and for about 15-20 minutes we watched a swirling vortex of servers and waiters swarm around us, always coming close but then veering away at the last second. I think the problem may have been our central location, at the bub of activity. It appeared that chances of catching a waiter were better at the edges of the room, where the motion slowed and the staff pooled a bit before getting caught up in the flow again. A quick read of the situation indicated that the servers were not authorized to take drink orders, and so we tried to hold on until we could catch the eye of a waiter. It took a while, but finally we managed to catch a waiter's attention and put in our combined order for drinks and dinner. This is our second time dining here, but since they have an extensive and varied menu getting the advice of the waiter seemed like the right thing to do. He recommended a couple of starters and main courses with accompaniments, and then disappeared in a swirl of servers.

We ordered two starters to share, which were brought out individually and with a complete change of plates and cutlery between. We assumed they had just forgotten about the second one, but it finally arrived about 15 minutes after we were finished with the first. When we finished the second, again the appetizer plates and utensils were taken away. Apparently Chola has no shortage of dish washers. While it wasn't the instant gratification we were hoping for from the starters, they were both very good. I didn't catch the names since I didn't actually order them from the menu, but one was some kind of crispy cauliflower in a sweet/sour sauce with cilantro (a kind of General Tso's Cauliflower, if you will, but not quite the same sauce and not breaded). The other was lamb chops with sauteed onions and lemon.

After that it was a long wait for the entrees. It probably seemed longer because of the marathon presentation of the starters, but even factoring in the psychological effect of the prior wait it seemed extremely long. When the first entree came out, a yogurt marinated chicken on a sizzling platter that was one of the chef's specials for the evening (no, it wasn't Tandoori chicken, I don't think), it was left to cool on the table while we sat without plates or silverware, much less the rest of our food. More alarming was the fact that the server who brought out the sizzling platter placed it on the edge of the table right next to our five-year-old son, seemingly oblivious to the notion that he wouldn't be the main consumer of the dish. This wouldn't be so remarkable if not for the fact that he actually put it as far away as it could be from the three adult diners at the table, and actual seemed to survey the table for a second before doing so, as if making a deliberate choice that little J was clearly the one who would benefit most from close proximity to the sizzling hot platter.

10 or 15 minutes later when the rest of our food came there was much relief all around, and the food was all very good like we remembered. In addition to the chicken we enjoy saag paneer and a variety of dal, as well as a complimentary side of some kind of cabbage dish that was turmeric-yellow.

Unfortunately, our memory of the long service will probably linger longer than that of the food, and I fear that we won't be returning until my wife has been able purge all memory of the evening.