We tried it (after your review). It was glorious. Luckily we had made a reservation because they were turning people away. The food was delicious, the service excellent, the ambience just fine, and the owner's obvious interest made us feel special. Everything about it was excellent. Because my wife and I had lived in the Old Market for 14 years after I retired I was used to the Indian Oven. Also an excellent restaurant.
But.......a couple of weeks ago I ordered take-out from Dhaba. When I went to pick it up at about 6:30, there was only one table with guests. Where was everyone else and why weren't there more people there? What I took home was, to both my wife and me, disappointing. My wife had the Vegetable Biryani. She found it dry and even though she had ordered it mild, much to hot for her taste. Unlike that at the Indian Oven it had nothing but rice and a very few vegetables. I ordered the Tandoori Sheesh Kabab. Again it was very dry and rather tasteless, nothing like the superb meal I had had when we were there. Our side order of naan was, again, dry and rather tasteless. Neither of us finished our food as it was simply not good enough.
Was this simply an off night? Or has the food gone downhill that much?
-- Don Nogg, Omaha, via e-mail, Feb. 26, 2010
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Relieved of our 2 non-thrill-seeking daughters for the eve, my wife and I gave Dhaba a shot. I would have to say we were both a little under-whelmed. In the 25 min before our food arrived, our waiter stopped by 4 times to ask 'how everything was.' At first we thought he was joking. Then came a Kingfisher beer at room temp with a hot glass fresh from the dishwasher.
I had the goat curry, a personal favorite, which was ok but not as flavorful (nor as spicy despite asking) as it should have been. If you want rice with your curry, which is customary, you have to order it separately as a $3 side dish. Jan had the vegetarian thali dinner and kind of picked through it, said she liked Mother India better (I haven't been yet).
Atmosphere-wise, it felt like the dining hall of a college dorm, rather than a restaurant. When we finally caught the waiter's attention for our check, he sent us up to the register to pay. But he had plenty of time to ask us 4 times 'how everything was' before anything even appeared at the table. The whole experience was a little to rough and amateurish. Don't think we will be rushing right back.
-- Will Rosegay, via e-mail, Jan. 29, 2010
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My wife and I had both read your article on Dhaba and were very excited about trying it out, as we really like Indian food. We have been to Samosa in Las Vegas, and Jaipur, Mother India, The Taj and the India Garden in Omaha. The food at all of those places has been very satisfying from the first visit. I guess that we may have to try Dhaba for their buffet, as the food that we had there last night was edible but that is about as far as it went. Who knows, maybe their normal cook was absent (I am trying to find them an excuse, as they really need one for last night).
The most flavorful item was the crisp bread that they brought out before we ordered. My wife ordered one of her personal favorites, chicken tikka masala, mild. I ordered the lamb curry, hot. We also ordered the bread basket. The amount of time we waited was normal, but my wife received her food a minimum of five minutes before I received mine. When my food arrived, I was still pretty excited about trying it as, from all our previous experiences with Indian foods, you are usually in for a wild flavorful ride with nearly any dish you would order. After trying it, I could not believe how bland this food was. Also, I had ordered my dish hot and I would say that they probably mistakenly made it mild like my wifes food.
I had to try my wifes food to see if hers had any flavor. Her tikka masala had a similar flavor to other restaurants, but it also tasted like it had been prepared for a hospital patient or someone that could not have any salt or spice in their diet. The bread basket was good. I would have told them about my food if they would have ever come to our table to ask. I would have definitely sent my dish back but I did not feel like waiting another ten minutes to eat.
They seemed to have alot of people working there and few customers but you would have had to throw a plate at them to get them to come to your table. Compared to any other Indian restaurant in town, based on our first experience, I would give them two thumbs down. Usually , one would be greeted with flavorful extremes of heat and spice, but at Dhaba last night, it was bland, bland, bland. Life is too short for subjecting yourself to food such as this.
-- Neil Swenson, via e-mail, Jan. 10, 2010
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