Bombay Grill in the historic Idanha Hotel building at the corner of N. 10th and W. Main Streets has served the Boise community since 2009 when owner and chef Mehar Singh and his wife Sukhuinder Kaur opened the restaurant.
On a chilly winter evening, Mehar tells The Boise Beat that the restaurant is “all family.” He sweeps his left arm around, drawing attention to groups of diners seated throughout the spacious but cozy restaurant as he continues. “All friends,” he says with a smile. Beside Mehar stands his wife, Sukhuiner Kaur. His son Karan sits to his left. Karan has been our waiter and epicurean enabler.
Karan tells The Boise Beat that prior to moving to Idaho and opening Bombay Grill, his father cooked in California for 10 years. The restaurant at which Mehar worked was ranked 2nd out of 400. Mehar enjoyed his position there but wanted to run his own business. In a cost-benefit analysis Boise made sense, and Boiseans welcomed the family (including son, Robin, also part of the Bombay Grill team) with open arms.
Mehar beams as he recounts that people sometimes even leave notes on his car telling him how delicious his food is. He, Karan, and Sukhuiner laugh as Mehar goes on to say that even at Costco all the employees know him and wave him in without having to check his membership card.
Family. Friends. Food. The atmosphere is relaxed and the laugher contagious.
BOMBAY GRILL SERVES VEGANS A FULL MENU
In response to a question about how there came to be so many vegan options on their menu, Mehar and Karan say that there was no need to specialize because vegetarian and vegan food are the foods they grew up eating. Mehar is himself a vegetarian, and they don’t use eggs in any of their dishes. He strives to let guests know that the Bombay Grill serves vegans a wide variety of tasty foods.
When asked about his favorite dish, Mehar points to the nearly gone Gobi Manchurian on our table and then the Bayngan Bhartha, which was the biggest hit with our group. Karan had recommended the okra for which this writer will be grateful as long as she lives and eats in Boise. But the meal started with Indian lager beers and vegetable samosas.
Vegetable Samosas
These deep fried triangular pastries are filled with spiced potatoes and green peas and served with a dark chutney. Smoky and spicy with an excellent mouth feel, this dish is worth doubling and eating as a meal in and of itself.
Gobi Manchurian
The second appetizer was this mild dish of fried cauliflower and caramelized onion. If you love onions, Bombay Grill is the place to go. The balance of flavors between cauliflower and onion make for a go-to appetizer.
Bayngan Bhartha
It’s not surprising that this dish is Mehar and other’s favorite.
For this entree, eggplant is cooked in a tandoor—a clay or metal oven that is cylindrical in shape. The eggplant is then chopped and mixed with tomatoes, onions, and spices.
When selecting dishes to sample, Karan offered a choice of spice levels. For this highly recommended dish it could only be hot. Basmati rice and a cool lager offer a palate pleasing balance.
Alu Gobi Masala
This cauliflower and potatoes is cooked in masala, a traditional multi-spice mix, and with fresh tomatoes, garlic, and ginger. The milder option offers a variety of textures, including melt-in-your mouth potato and works well with or without the basmati rice that comes with it. It is another delicious way that the Bombay Grill serves vegans.
Dhal Tadka
If you’re looking for creamy, this yellow lentil dish made with sauteed onions and tomatoes and seasoned with cumin and mustard is sure to please. Other versions are made with dairy cream, but this dish has a creamy mouth feel that could fool any omnivore. It’s high fiber, high nutrient, and high taste. Smooth, mild, and bright, this is no guilt comfort food.
Whether it tastes best on its own eaten almost soup style or as a dip for the round, vegan, whole-wheat roti is hard to decide. Alternate taste testing is highly recommended and enjoyable.
Bhindi Masala
Southerners have long loved okra, but the odd edible seed pods that look like hairy jalapenos are underappreciated in other parts of the U.S. Thankfully, Indian cuisine gives them the respect they deserve. Karan described the dish as being a mix of okra, onions, tomato, and spices. He could just have referred to this chunky, caramely, smoky dish as “perfect.”
If you find yourself dining with picky eaters who turn their noses up at the mention of okra so much the better. More for you. In fact, order one to eat there and one to take home for a leftovers lunch.
LEFTOVERS AND COME BACKS
Opening the take-away box and heating its contents the next day infuses the air with the same savory-sweet smells that hits diners as they enter the Bombay Grill—lemony coriander, cardamom, and cumin, caramelized onion, and the earthy smell of roti. It’s a smell and experience that beckons committed and situational vegans back time and again. And with more vegan options than anyone can try in one sitting, it’s worth revisiting. For research. And to say hi to your new friends and food family Mehar Singh, Sukhuinder Kaur, and their sons Karan and Robin. If you’re short on time, no problem. Bombay Grill offers a buffet lunch and is so popular for weekday take-out that they might as well leave the doors open.
If a sweet treat after a spicy meal is what you crave, run across the lobby to grab one of the many vegan donuts available at Guru Donuts, also on the first floor of the Idanha Hotel.
Bombay Grill
928 W. Main Street
Boise, Idaho 83702
(208) 345-7888
All photos by Cristen Iris
