......in Florida! Or maybe food just tastes better when you're on vacation? Anywho, Gabriel and I are visiting my sibs in Jacksonville this week so of course they were obligated to participate in the blog. My sister Sarah (who doesn't care for Indian food) immediately consulted Yelp (typical first-born), and we settled on the place with the highest ratings.
Sarah, her husband Bryan, their two kids, Lauren and Nate, and Gabe and I loaded up in the van and trotted off to India House. Now lemme just tell ya; this place is PHENOMENAL. I don't know what they put in their food, but everything was amazing. I'm sitting here eating my fantastic leftovers while I write this. It's truly inspiring. ;-)
Before going in, the teenagers stopped to take a shot of their sick "outifts of the day" for instagram. Don't you just love the trash can in the middle of my shot?
Pappadam and sauces were waiting for us on the table upon arrival. The Pappadam was the only bad thing I had at this place. My piece of Pappadam was soggy in some places, stale in others and then had some spots that were just right. It was like Three Bears Pappadam.
Bryan and I both had the Coconut soup, which the menu described as "Coconut cream, sweetened milk and pistachios, served warm." It's not much to look at, but it was a strange and tasty experience. It was mildly sweet, warm, and full of coconut bits. It was like having a microwaved bowl of coconut gelato (my favorite thing!). I enjoyed it, and Bryan commented that it would be something wonderful to eat when one is not feeling well.
Next came the appetizers; Diwani Kebab and Cheesy Pepper Naan. The Diwani Kebab, "Boneless chicken tenders specially marinated with garlic, ginger and special spices," was so incredibly delicious. It was probably the best Indian dish I have ever had, and everyone at the table gave it rave reviews. Sarah commented that she gave it 5 smiley faces. I didn't try the Cheesy Naan, but it looked so good that it was pretty hard to resist. It very quickly disappeared into everyone's bellies.
Bryan had the Maharaja Thali, the complete King Indian style dinner. We all tried many of the dishes and each one was delicious. Bryan gave it 4.5 smiley faces! To the right are the details of what it included:
Sarah had the Chicken Makhani, "Boneless chicken served with fresh cream, tomatoes, and other special Indian spices." The chicken was very tender, and the sauce was sweet and tangy. She gave it 4 smiley faces!
Nate had the Goat Curry. He said he liked it. He said the meat was tender, but it was not easily removed from the bone (I KNEW it!). He gave it 4 smiley faces. 
Lauren had the Chicken Tikka Masala. When asked about it she gushed, "I LOVED it. Five and half smiley faces! It had just the right amount of heat; not too spicy and the chicken was good, hearty chunks." Gabe had the Chicken Korma. He ordered medium spice, which they executed perfectly! He said it was awesome and gave 5 smiley faces. While I questioned him about it, Lauren chimed in to add, "But, he liked my Chicken Tikka Masala better, and I liked his equally." Can you tell we had some ham at our Indian dinner?Note the goofy cousin photo-bomb behind the Tikka Masala.
Here's me, starting a blink, with my Lamb Saag! It was so good that I'll even go so far as to say that it was sofa king good. It was just SO delicious. The flavor was amazing. I asked for no spice and they obliged! Although the taste was perfect, I have definitely had lamb that was more tender so I gave it 4 smiley faces.
My parting thought? Too bad my dad missed out on all of this. :)
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