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 Star of India Reviewer's Summary: Awfully Unappetizing Food; So-So Service Address & Telephone No: Star of India 412 S Craig St Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Ph: 412-681-5700 Hours: Lunch Sunday - Saturday 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM Dinner Sunday - Thursday 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM Friday & Saturday 5:00 PM to 10:30 PM Star of India on South Craig Street in Pittsburgh is an Indian restaurant in name only. Serving some of the most unappetizing Indian food in the Greater Pittsburgh area, Star of India boggles the imagination because food this bad - and bland - is a hard feat to accomplish. Even in a meal where we encountered missteps at almost every turn, Alu Baingan (Egg Plant with Potato) stood out for its huge serving of misery. Besides lacking any semblance of taste, the Egg Plant was hard and clearly not cooked completely. Our unpleasant experience began right at the very beginning - with the ubiquitous Pakoras. Unlike the more common Onion, Potato and Spinach Pakoras, we came upon Egg Plant Pakoras here that left us shaking our head in disgust. To be fair to Star of India, our experience lately with Pakoras at other Indian restaurants too has been disappointing. Following the Pakoras, we tried several dishes at Star of India but encountered disappointment unfailingly. Channa Sag was cooked so bland with nary a thought of imparting any flavor to the dish. We struggled with the Tadka Dal - it had far too much turmeric powder and tasted yucky. Chicken Makhani was below average, lacking the fine creamy taste that's a hallmark of one of our favorite dishes. Tandoori Chicken was amazingly bad - it wasn't sufficiently marinated. Most Indian restaurants serve Tandoori Chicken and we wondered how any chef could make it so tasteless (For fine Tandoori Chicken in the Pittsburgh area, visit Taj Mahal on McKnight Road). Star of India's Pulav lacked the rich aromatic flavor that has made this rice dish a favorite across India. Naan bread was just OK. In sheer frustration and increasing desperation, we turned our attention towards desserts. Perhaps, it was our Karma. For on the desserts side too we found no relief but encountered only more pain. Star of India's Kulfi ($2.95) was a caricature of the Kulfi ice cream that's a standard feature of most Indian restaurants in the U.S. The Kulfi lacked sweetness and it lacked enough milk. While it had a faint whiff of mango flavor, we couldn't be sure. When we asked our friendly waitress, she looked like a Pennsylvania deer caught in the headlights. You see, she was utterly clueless. After a few seconds, she mumbled that it was Dudh Kulfi. Gosh, anyone with the least bit of familiarity with Indian cuisine should surely know that all Kulfi is made from milk (Dudh in Hindi) in one form or the other. Actually, Kulfi comes in many flavors including Pistachio, Kesar, Mango and Almond. Our waitress' response to the Kulfi question was a good summary of Star of India - clueless. Rice Kheer was slightly better, but then keep in mind that we were comparing it with the miserable Kulfi. Masala Tea was not bad. Star of India's menu boasts that its "expert chefs are master of centuries old techniques of blending these variety of spices used to enhance each dish." What a ridiculous claim. Going by the taste of the food on our table, we wondered whether the dishwasher at Star of India had been drafted to also work in the kitchen. Another unpleasant surprise awaited us at the end of our meal. Only as were presented with the check were we casually informed that the credit card machine was down and could we pay cash. Although mighty irritated by this unpleasant surprise sprung on us, we did not protest because we were eager to be rid of this nightmare of an Indian restaurant. All in all, Star of India is a restaurant that's showing distressing signs of age, wrinkles and all - both in its food and service. This Indian restaurant is located on a fairly busy Pittsburgh street with decent foot traffic - South Craig Street - but it was quite empty during our visit. With such bad food, it was no surprise.- RR |
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