rob gross

Hi,

Driving on Cambridge Street this afternoon, I saw an Indian restaurant
named Grain and Salt (431 Cambridge St., 617-254-3373), and it was so
strikingly pretty (particularly in the midst of a rather grungy
neighborhood) that I decided to go there for dinner. The restaurant
is located a few doors down from Cafe Brazil, in what I think was
formerly a pizzeria. Next door is a new Thai restaurant that
unfortunately has only 3 rickety tables and is mostly intended for
take-out. It also appears to be worth investigation.

The menu has most of the expected Indian dishes, but also listed
tandoori chicken pizza (I guess that they still have the pizza ovens
in the back), along with a section of "Indian Chinese" dishes that
looked intriguing. We instead had an order of haleem, a weekend-only
special. The presence of a beef dish was a tip-off that the
restaurant is actually Pakistani (along with the note on the menu that
all of the meat served is halal). Haleem is something I had never
encountered before, and I hope that I have recollected the name
correctly. It was a stew of mostly beef marrow, with a few chunks of
brisket in it, and some lentils. It was not particularly spicy, and
very rich. I loved it; my companion did not care for it much.

We also had a chicken biryani, which was a bit on the dry side and
quite peppery (I think that Pakistani restaurants make a spicier
biryani than Indian ones). It came with a side of excellent raita.
We also had onion kulcha (as good as the best I've had), masala tea
(the best I've had in a long time), and rice pudding.

The dishes were relatively inexpensive by ordinary standards, but
perhaps a bit on the high side for that neighborhood of Allston. The
haleem was $13, the biryani $11. The total, including tip, was $47.

One other note: much to my surprise, it was not hard to find parking
on the street at 6 PM on a Saturday evening.--Rob

--
Rob Gross (617) 552-3758
Department of Mathematics http://fmwww.bc.edu/gross/
Boston College gross@bc.edu
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3806

mary malmros

This is one of several interesting restaurants that have popped up in this
area, and that I've been meaning to try. Thanks for posting the review!