Spice Rack: Tasty flavors with a kick
By Faith Bahadurian
From the Princeton Packet
I’d been meaning to visit Spice Rack restaurant, which opened in Franklin Park in 2013, for a while, lured by the promise of Indian Chinese fusion food and at least one very unusual dish on the menu.
But I didn’t end up ordering the Brain Masala appetizer, prepared with cilantro and corn and served with naan, even though I had eaten lamb brains cooked by my Armenian grandmother as a teenager. (Once mashed with garlic, lemon, and olive oil, they were fine on a cracker.)
I’ve always heard that Indians’ favorite cuisine, after their own, is Chinese food, which has been an important part of the culinary scene in India since its introduction by Chinese immigrants to Kolkata over a hundred years ago.
So when you see things on the menu of an Indian restaurant like Manchurian chicken or fried rice, you are seeing that preference manifested. And, of course, those Chinese dishes are often “enhanced” with Indian spices and other “kick-it-up-a-notch” touches. And, reciprocally, in places like Spice Rack, the Indian dishes are sometimes treated to a touch of Chinese seasoning, maybe soy sauce, resulting in sauces that are not strictly curry.
The menu at Spice Rack, which serves halal meats, has an Indian foundation, but then roams all over Asia and even wanders into the West with, for instance lobster and saffron bisque with black truffle and aged sherry among the soups. There’s also Thai Tom Yum Soup, Taipei prawns, rosemary olive oil naan, Szechuan chicken or lamb, and “Drums of Heaven,” the latter being wood-charcoal-grilled chicken wings with soy and sesame based mustard salsa.
A dish of Hakka noodles is a nod to the mostly Hakka Chinese currently living in Kolkata, while lamb vindaloo contains a dash of malt vinegar and Lamb Rogan Josh is flavored with “cockscomb flower,” a member of the Amaranth family known as “Rooster Comb” in Spain and as “soko yokoto,” in Nigeria, meaning “make husbands fat and happy.” Wow.
Spice Rack is located in one of the ubiquitous strip malls along Route 27 (on the Southbound side). Inside, the seating is surprisingly comfortable, the welcome warm. A very polite staff provided efficient service, with other diners representing a cultural cross section of the area, leading me to think nearly anyone would find something to enjoy here.
We started with orders of crispy chilli bby corn and fusion bhel. The former is described as “corn fritters tossed in fresh crushed pepper, ginger and garlic.” I associate “fritters” with chopped food, but here whole tiny ears of baby corn, the kind used in Chinese cooking, had been battered and fried, then tossed with the seasonings. The flavor wasn’t as corny as a regular corn fritter might have been, but they were good nonetheless, especially with the slightly sweet coating.
Fusion bhel, one of their more popular appetizers, was a sophisticated round cake of crispy noodles surrounded by artistic swirls of tangy-sweet sauce. It tasted as good as it looked, and the plating would not have looked out of place at any upscale restaurant.
For entrées, we ordered Tandoori pomfret and Tibet lamb. Tandoori Pomfret was my favorite dish of the meal; I’ve always like this fish and there’s something downright cute about its silvery round profile. In the Chinese markets where I’ve bought them, their small size makes them the perfect serving for one. This one had been marinated in yogurt with turmeric, gram masala and clove, then flash roasted in the tandoor oven. It was served whole on a sizzling platter with a bed of red cabbage with radish, red pepper, lime and coriander.
The Tibet lamb was the spiciest dish we tried, the shredded meat having been tossed with garlic, lots of hot chillies, and green onions, before a final lashing of red chilli oil. Kapow!
Very tasty, but not for the faint-hearted. Overall, I love the punchy flavors at Spice Rack, which do a “happy dance” in my mouth.
Wanting to offset the expected heat from the lamb, I ordered something I usually avoid, as being kind of childish and not “authentic” — pineapple fried rice with peas, cashews, and raisins. But it was a good choice here, and well executed although I would have liked a little more pineapple than the occasional chunks I came across. Entrées here also come with a rice “pilaf” that seemed to be just basmati with a few cumin seeds. It was fine, but since we had the fried rice, I took the basmati home (and made a wonderful dessert pudding with it a few days later, adding green cardamom pods).
While we were too full to indulge, desserts here range from the expected (kulfi, gulab jamun, and other Indian specialties) to a more Western hot fudge brownie/ice cream sundae. There are several ice cream options among the choices, and a warm date pancake I’ve got in mind for my next visit. There are so many interesting dishes at Spice Rack, I foresee a lot of trips up Route 27 in my future.
Faith Bahadurian blogs at njspice.net (also Twitter @njspice).
The Princeton Packet and Greater Media Newspapers are part of the Newspaper Media Group.
Spice Rack
3191 Route 27
Franklin Park
732-305-7661
Rating Good
Ambiance Indian/Chinese mash-up and a touch of Thai in a smartly casual setting with padded chairs, cloth napkins, and nice glassware. Staff is very polite and accommodating.
Prices Appetizers/Soups/Breads $2.45-$8.95; Entrées/Biryanis/Noodles $11.95-$17.95.
Hours Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Essentials Major credit cards; BYOB; wheelchair accessible; private parking lot; reservations accepted.
Rating includes the overall experience, including food and service, and range from Fair to Excellent.
