Tava Kitchen Launches New Menu + Giveaway - Palo Alto

Mango Lassi and Cardamon Iced Chai drinks

Tava Kitchen in Palo Alto is rebranding and changing up their menu. Formerly Tava Indian Kitchen, the new name and menu aims to reflect a less Indian-centric cuisune with the introduction of some Southeast Asian influenced items. We were invited to a tasting event and I'm excited to share with you their revamped items. Stay until the end for details on a giveaway!

Garlic Naan is a must have with Indian food. ($2 extra when added to the meal)

One of the changes implemented for the new menu is the steamer trays have been replaced with Le Creuset Balti Dish (*Affiliate link). They are a very colorful and home-style way to serve food. 

Plenty of sides available to go with the entrees

Here's how the menu works:
Choose an entree with rice or in a wrap (different prices for each). Add one side. Or add 2 sides for a higher price.

The first meal we tasted consisted of Chicken Tikka, Crunchy Kale & Quinoa, Chilled Brussel Sprouts & Grapes

Soft B Sprouts with crunchy carrots and sweet grapes in a mint chutney. Very well balanced.

Crunchy Kale with red quinoa in a turmeric dressing was a flavor and texture bomb.

Left: South Asian Mac and Cheese was just a regular mac and cheese with an Asian influence seasoned bread crumb. Can't go wrong with mac and cheese though.

Middle: Braised Beef which was tender served on brown rice

Right: Glazed Sweet Potatoes with a sprinkle of Himalayan Pink Salt

Left: Roasted Heirloom Carrot with cumin and coriander. Is there anything better than an heirloom produce? This is the perfect preparation for a roasted carrot. I highly recommend getting this as a side, plus it's very filling.

Middle: Pineapple Glazed Salmon over brown rice

Right: Asian Noodle Slaw with bean thread, edamame, bell peppers. I was actually a big fan of this. The bean thread was thicker than usual and the ginger dressing was mellow but tasty.

Left: Candied Beet Salad with yellow beets and yogurt dressing with spices. I love yellow beets!

Middle: Lamb Meatballs in a curry-ish sauce on rice. This was good.

Right: Baked New Potatoes. Other than the nice and soft purple one, I thought the potatoes were pretty bland. Maybe halved and roasted would make it crispier? Maybe a sprinkle of salt and pepper would do it?

This is what all the dishes look like when plated. If you ordered from them, your food would come out like this. 

You can also choose your items in a wrap.

Grab a healthy kids meal for the kiddos like the mac and cheese or the quesadilla. Comes with grapes and organic milk.

You must get anything with the candied pistachios. They're made in house and it's fantastic. Tava Kitchen should really package this up and sell it as an add on along with their Tava spice.

The kind folks at Tava Kitchen are so excited to share this new menu with you, they sponsored the giveaway below. Please follow their Instagram account @TavaKitchen and fill in this widget. There will be 3 winners. The coupons are only valid at the Palo Alto location.

Two winners will each receive a pair of $10 coupons

One winner will receive a pair of Free Entree coupons

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pre-Opening Party for Curry Up Now - San Jose

DISCLAIMER:

I received an invite to attend Curry Up Now's pre-opening party. Every food and drink item in this post was complimentary. I will not review service because it was also a training event for their new staff and hiccups are to be expected. This post will show some of their food and drink offerings.

Grand Opening is on Thursday 9/24/15
http://www.curryupnow.com/san-jose

Curry Up Now started out as a food truck and has expanded to 3 brick and mortar locations, 5 trucks, a catering business, and a bar. Their latest location is in San Jose off Zanker Road. It's in a small retail strip below an apartment complex. The location is spacious. Parking is limited to a few spots out front, in the garage, and the rest is street parking which is hard to find.

($3) Mango Lassi, also available was Rose Lassi

($8.25) Deconstructed Chicken Samosa

Lots of chickpeas, chutneys, and mini samosas. This thing is much larger than expected and I enjoyed it. One of the chutneys has a very distinct taste so it might not be for those who don't like spices and herbs.

($8) Dynamite Tangra Wings

smothered in Indian-Chinese spicy sauce and dusted with ghost chili powder. That ghost chili powder will really get you. But if you let it cool a bit and rub the powder around in the rest of the hot sauce, it's not as spicy with some white rice.

($9.50) Sexy Fries
Indian inspired poutine (but it doesn't have gravy) with sweet potato criss-cut fries and lamb dopiaza. The lamb is quite good and it's the same one that comes in the Thali dish. I personally enjoy sweet potato fries vs regular. I wish the cheese was a melty kind and that there was some sort of gravy or more sauce. Otherwise this is just fries underneath a scoop of lamb.

($6) Itsy Bitsy Naan Bits

Chopped up naan with tikka masala dip. Tasty but not worth the price. No meat in the sauce.

($13) Thali with Meat Sweats option for $1 extra

Turmeric flavored brown rice was dry. It comes with butter chicken, ground beef keema, and lamb dopiaza (same as on top of the fries) which was all good. There's also a side of some strongly salty and sour eggplant(?) pickle which I hate but I see it served at all Indian restaurants. Someone explain to me what this is and how it's eaten (top left in small bowl). Naan was rather oily and not quite authentic but still tasty.

($9.50) Tikka Masala burrito

Whole wheat tortilla, turmeric and fenugreek white rice, chicken tikka masala with onions. This burrito really says fusion food truck - something wrapped and convenient. It was good and filling, I would order again.

($6) Hot Balls on Ice

Gulab Jamun (those sweet milk balls in syrup you often see at Indian restaurants) and kulfi ice cream. This ice cream had a strong pistachio taste. Very strong. The gulab jamun was good but I wasn't a fan of the ice cream.

Half of the restaurant is a bar called Mortar and Pestle. It's a full bar with beer, wine, and spirits. 

($14) Green Isaac's Special
Bombay Sapphire Gin, coconut water, Demerara and LN2. I don't recognize those last two ingredients. rum and liquid nitrogen?! This drink is too strong. Phil agrees. This isn't just a female opinion. The drink is so strong. I guess if you can get wasted for $14 then it's a good deal for you.