Steve Circeo
Son yorumlar
Serendib
Walking into Serendib, I didn't know what to expect. Maine -- at least the places we've been around the state -- seems to be a bit of an Indian/Himalayan food wasteland, and I'd never tried Sri Lankan, but I'm always up for a happy surprise. And that's what I got!
We started with the samosas, which were weird to me, created using phyllo dough. They were the best samosas I've ever had! The filling was perfect, and the phyllo works a lot better than the breading that I've usually had. Please note that I am not the samosa fan in our family -- my partner loves them. She agreed, though, that these phyllo samosas were very good.
For entrees, we always prefer to eat vegetarian, so we both had paneer. I chose the Sri Lankan curry because I had not had that before, and my partner had the Indian Butter sauce. Both were presented simply and beautifully, with the curry filling the large plate, four or five chunks of paneer in a row toward the center, and a large mound of rice on the plate next to the paneer. The plates were quite lovely, and I'm bummed I did not shoot a photo.
The Sri Lankan curry was very thin and heavily tomato-based, again something I'm not accustomed to. It was fantastic! I had a taste of my SO's Indian Butter sauce, and it was more like the kind of curry I usually get, thicker and with more of the curry flavor I'm familiar with. It was very good. Btw, we both ordered mild-medium heat, and the spice level seemed appropriate.
Let me mention the naan. Usually naan -- in my experience -- is served flat, with delicious air bubbles and slightly burned spots. I love that naan. The naan at Serendib definitely did not fit my expectation. It came rolled up, kind of like a fat tortilla (but not). This naan seemed a lot more buttery than I'm used to. I'm dodging the point, though: The naan at Serendib is delicious! It came with three condiments, one root salady, one more like salsa, and one green, and they were all excellent. I was really happy we got the naan, because I needed it to help deliver the extra curry to my mouth.
The ambiance in Serendib is very casual, including the super-casual way the staff were dressed. Again out of the ordinary, but I also like to dress super-casually, and have turned down jobs that require me to dress a certain way, so I appreciate an employer who is willing to bend the norms that way. The staff performed very well, and that's exactly what matters. I also appreciated that the music was somewhat nondescript contemporary pop.
To sum up, the Sri Lankan meal I had at Serendib, while far outside my usual expectations of this kind of cuisine, was some of the best food I've had recently. I highly recommend you try Serendib if you are in the area.
We started with the samosas, which were weird to me, created using phyllo dough. They were the best samosas I've ever had! The filling was perfect, and the phyllo works a lot better than the breading that I've usually had. Please note that I am not the samosa fan in our family -- my partner loves them. She agreed, though, that these phyllo samosas were very good.
For entrees, we always prefer to eat vegetarian, so we both had paneer. I chose the Sri Lankan curry because I had not had that before, and my partner had the Indian Butter sauce. Both were presented simply and beautifully, with the curry filling the large plate, four or five chunks of paneer in a row toward the center, and a large mound of rice on the plate next to the paneer. The plates were quite lovely, and I'm bummed I did not shoot a photo.
The Sri Lankan curry was very thin and heavily tomato-based, again something I'm not accustomed to. It was fantastic! I had a taste of my SO's Indian Butter sauce, and it was more like the kind of curry I usually get, thicker and with more of the curry flavor I'm familiar with. It was very good. Btw, we both ordered mild-medium heat, and the spice level seemed appropriate.
Let me mention the naan. Usually naan -- in my experience -- is served flat, with delicious air bubbles and slightly burned spots. I love that naan. The naan at Serendib definitely did not fit my expectation. It came rolled up, kind of like a fat tortilla (but not). This naan seemed a lot more buttery than I'm used to. I'm dodging the point, though: The naan at Serendib is delicious! It came with three condiments, one root salady, one more like salsa, and one green, and they were all excellent. I was really happy we got the naan, because I needed it to help deliver the extra curry to my mouth.
The ambiance in Serendib is very casual, including the super-casual way the staff were dressed. Again out of the ordinary, but I also like to dress super-casually, and have turned down jobs that require me to dress a certain way, so I appreciate an employer who is willing to bend the norms that way. The staff performed very well, and that's exactly what matters. I also appreciated that the music was somewhat nondescript contemporary pop.
To sum up, the Sri Lankan meal I had at Serendib, while far outside my usual expectations of this kind of cuisine, was some of the best food I've had recently. I highly recommend you try Serendib if you are in the area.