![_Whitney Houston, 48, Has Died [Updated]](http://sfist.com/assets_c/2012/02/whitney-houston-dead-2-thumb-250x250-693364.jpg)
In Praise of Mediocrity: East Bay Eats at Flavors of India
When you live in a neighborhood overrun by donut purveyors and nail shops, with a fair number of fairly unappetizing Chinese restaurants sprinkled in between, the arrival of a new joint featuring a new regional cuisine is cause for at least a little salivation.
In the Grand Lake district, we now have a Flavors of India restaurant, second outpost -- the first opened in Rockridge in 2006.
It's not great Indian food. We'll be the first to admit it. You want GREAT and in the East Bay, head to Breads of India (which recently relocated to a beautiful and cavernous new space in the ever-reviving Old Oakland area); or the East Bay outpost of Taste of the Himalayas in North Berkeley (which arguably and elegantly hovers between Tibetan and Indian cuisines); or try the plethora of regional Indian restaurants and cafés that line either side of University Avenue in West Berkeley; or follow Alice Waters to her favorite chaat spot, Vik's.
At Flavors, the décor is warm and pleasant, the tables usually packed -- we're not the only ones in the neighborhood glad for the new addition, and the service young, and slow; verrrrry slow.
We were dismayed, on our second visit, to discover how many of the "flavors" we were reasonably enjoying came out of a can or box -- as the entire pantry is on display for diners who navigate the labyrinthine path to the bathrooms.
That all said, we find Flavors of India to be a decent local option, and a cut above the other types of Asian foods available in the immediate four-block area (we usually call over to Piedmont Avenue for take-out/delivery Chinese, or head downtown for Vietnamese).
We can report that with four dinners under our belts, we have already fallen into a rut. We prefer the Tandoor meats over the floating-in-sauce meat offerings as for almost the same price, you get twice as much meat, enough for two hearty eaters. The Chicken Tikka Kabob ($9.99) was a little dry for us. but tasty enough; we prefer the Tandoori Boti Kabab, a.k.a. lamb, ($10.99). We haven't tried the seafood offerings here, and we're not sure you should either; this just doesn't seem like the place for it. But if you do, let us know.
For our veg, we get the Saag Paneer ($8.99), a thick creamy spinach dish with hearty chunks of fluffy and just slightly sour homemade cheese. We enjoy the Vegetable Samosas ($3.50) appetizer, even though the cubes of carrot and wrinkly peas clearly come from a can or a freezer bag or somesuch.
These same peas and carrots are NOT a welcome addition to the Rice Pilaf ($2.99). Save your pennies and your palate and get the regular Rice instead ($1.50), which is nicely flavored with dots of caraway seed.
The Papadums $1.25 are pretty standard, and we were not impressed with the "buttered and layered whole wheat" Paratha ($1.99), which could have used more butter, and some salt. Plain Naan is just fine ($1.49). The Raita ($1.49) is mild and pleasing, if thin.
We enjoyed the Mango Shake ($2.99), a mango-milk blend that is lighter in consistency than the Mango Lassi. But we would have enjoyed it more had we not seen the canned mango pulp on the shelves in the back.
All in all, a decent, clean, friendly establishment for those in the hood, but not a "destination" location. Just be sure to allow a lot of extra time if you are dining here before catching a movie at the Grand Lake Theater.
Flavors of India
3276 Lakeshore Avenue
Oakland
510-268-8957
Open 7 days a week
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Dinner: 4:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.