Kabob and Kurry is a new restaurant in Gilbert that specializes in cuisine from the Indian subcontinent. The restaurant is just a month old and is located in a small strip mall on the north east corner of Warner and McQueen roads. Recently on a Sunday, I had the opportunity of sampling their lunch buffet.
The place is small with just a couple of Formica topped tables and steel chairs. The décor is minimalistic with a few modern art prints on one wall and colorful glass bowls hanging from the opposite wall. On the day of our visit, the staff comprised of folks from the Chef’s family and a couple of servers. All of them were courteous and assigned us a table immediately. The lunch buffet was underway and we were asked to proceed to the buffet table. It wasn’t a big selection. They had chat comprising of bhelpuris and panipuris, pakoras as appetizers and the usual selections of raita and salad. The vegetarian items comprised of colored rice, lotus root curry (Kamal Kakri), pao-bhaji, chole and toor/arhar daal. The meat dishes comprised of chicken curry, goat curry and beef vindaloo. Warm pita slices and Indian puffed bread (puris) were served on the table. Desert was warm suji halwa (semolina pudding). Only a couple of items really stood out in taste. Like the toor/arhar daal (best I have tasted in a long time). Other items to note were the lotus root curry, pao-bhaji, goat curry and the pani (spicy water) that accompanied the golgappas or panipuris. However I had to search for the green and tamarind chutneys that accompany chats and finally located them in small bottles. I was also a little disappointed that they served store bought pitas instead of naans on the table. Even the puris were not of the finest quality. The suji halwa for dessert was good though and a good substitute for kheer and gulab jamuns that we see in most Indian buffets.
Unfortunately in this restaurant, you cannot order items from the menu card for lunch. So there were no kabobs, tandoori chicken or biriyanis for lunch. The Chef said that the lunch menu changes everyday and they do have kabobs in the lunch buffet sometimes. The lunch buffet is priced very reasonably at $5 (weekdays) and $5.95 on weekends. Other items on the menu are also pretty reasonable prices between $8-12. You can get the menu online at http://kabobandkurry.com/Menu/Kabob_and_Kurry_Menu.html
An interesting fact came up during my chat with the chef. The restaurant is a perfect example of Indo-Pak affinity (Bhaichara) when it comes to food. The owner is a Valley surgeon (of Pakistani descent) and the Chef is an Indian originally from North India. The Chef, Parveen Puri, was actually a film production guy from Bollywood (Indian film industry). He also worked as a special chef for movie stars like Dharmender and Sanjeev Kumar. That led to a career in restaurants in San Francisco and Chicago before his debut in this Valley restaurant. Overall, this place has a nice, homely vibe to it. I would recommend this restaurant if you are in the area and want a quick bite. The prices are reasonable and food ok. But it is definitely not the place for special occasions or for food connoisseurs.
Kabob and Kurry
1430 W. Warner Rd. #126
Gilbert, AZ 85233
Phone: 480-892-5879
Website: www.kabobandkurry.com
Note: Websites like restaurant.com are currently offering discount coupons for this restaurant. The restaurant does not honor such coupons.
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