Another Indian restaurant on Washington Avenue? There is no shortage of chicken tikka masala on this corner of Lark St-Washington Ave-Central Ave. But having eaten at each of these Indian/Pakistani establishments (hello lunch buffet!), not all are made the same. Indian cuisine can be just as diverse as Chinese or American food, varying from region to region. Flavors of India embraces this diversity by featuring traditional Indian cuisine from North to South, East to West and most uniquely a fusion of Indo-Chinese food.
It was intimidating stepping into an empty restaurant but putting our skepticism aside, we went for it and couldn't have been more surprised by the flavors we encountered. It was a chilly Monday night and we chose to warm up with cups of milky chai tea. We knew we were in for a treat when we were greeted by comforting aromas of earthy cardamom and warm cinnamon, none of that pre-mixed commercial tea bag crap. It was a good sign for things to come.
Looking over Table Hopping's List of 2013 Restaurant Opening and Closings made me reminisce about some pretty good eats and salivate over those I haven't gotten around to checking out yet. Since the end of the year is a time to reflect, here are our "Best of" lists for 2013:
Best new restaurant openings:
- The Hollow Bar + Kitchen: We can't rave enough about this place. It's by far our favorite new restaurant of 2013 and home to the best 518 burger. In fact, J and I both agreed at once that the Hollow Burger was the best bite of 2013 when All Over Albany approached us asking what was our favorite local thing to eat this year: AOA's Favorite Local Foods 2013.
- La Empanada Llama: Fried edible pillows of heaven. The savory empanadas are just as good as the sweet dessert ones. Don't forget to ask for the green sauce--it's a magical blend of garlic and cilantro that elevates each delicious fried bite. It's hard to pick our favorite empanadas but the spinach and cheese and nutella with banana are pretty awesome.
- Kim's Vietnamese Restaurant: There's no doubt that we're pho-natics and while we didn't quite see eye to eye with the TU's review, we still stand by that it's one of best pho in the Capital Region, at least from a Vietnamese perspective.
Another Indian restaurant on Washington Avenue? There is no shortage of chicken tikka masala on this corner of Lark St-Washington Ave-Central Ave. But having eaten at each of these Indian/Pakistani establishments (hello lunch buffet!), not all are made the same. Indian cuisine can be just as diverse as Chinese or American food, varying from region to region. Flavors of India embraces this diversity by featuring traditional Indian cuisine from North to South, East to West and most uniquely a fusion of Indo-Chinese food. 
