Indian Palace Restaurant and Tako Sushi

* sorry...no pictures*

INDIAN

Tried a new Indian restaurant today called Indian Palace Restaurant. I actually didn't know the name until I looked it up just now. Hah. Tried the $8...95 (?) lunch buffet. I liked pretty much everything I tried, although I accidentally ate big chunks of ginger, which is really just my own problem; it doesn't lower my opinion of this place. The chai was spicy and good, like my companion said. Although it was very sweet, I actually liked the rice pudding, and I normally don't like Indian rice pudding. I would go back if I were in the area and I felt like eating Indian food. There's also a 10% discount if you're a student or if you bring in this coupon (click "internet special"). And a waiter/busboy/whatever he was who couldn't speak or understand English. The naan was buttery. I prefer my naan more fluffy like Khana Peena's, but this naan was fine too I guess. No complaints. Yay for trying new places!

JAPANESE

I had gone to Tako Sushi once before, and I had eaten off of their sushi platters with NSU people, so I sorta knew what to expect. However, I noticed a lot of things I hadn't noticed before...maybe because I was sitting in a different place. I really like how they have a lot of odd (non-traditional) menu options and features. For example, there was a tempura chicken teriyaki roll. I've had chicken rolls before, which is itself abnormal, but never tempura chicken...and certainly not tempura chicken in a roll. Weird, but I would try it. They had a bunch of interesting combinations...very Berkeley-esque with its uniqueness and diversity. I found the kite theme and the restaurant colors random (although in the end I just accepted the oddness of everything). For one thing, what does a kite have to do with Japanese culture? There's a kite on the front of the menu and a supposedly Japanese kanji character on the wall that means "kite." What do the red, blue, and yellow colors mean? The walls were painted with cherry blossom trees, but then the pipes overhead were painted red, yellow, and blue, which matched the menu. Anyways, on to the food. I ordered a chicken teriyaki dinner the last time I was there, which I didn't like because the sauce was too sweet. So, being the stupid person I am, I ordered a salmon teriyaki instead. See the mistake? Why would I order anything teriyaki if I didn't like the teriyaki sauce the first time? ::sigh:: That wasn't even the only stupid thing I did tonight. Anyways, the salmon ended up being REALLY good. So soft and flavorful. After two wonderful salmon dishes (the first at the new Japanese restaurant back at home...that '80s Sushi place or whatever), I'm going to start ordering salmon more often (I have always been too afraid to order fish at restaurants). The salad was good too...and the orange wedge. lol Oh! Another really random thing was that they gave us each a single broccoli floret (small, of course) covered in its own red sauce, which we decided was like some kind of Asian BBQ sauce. SO random. I actually really enjoyed all of the randomness. The service was also fast, and our waiter was really nice. Yum.