Taj Mahal
by Vivian Lin, Special Contributor

Last week, I was craving some Indian food so my friend and I decided to check out 6th street between 1st and 2nd Avenues. If you've been down this street, you know how aggressive the restaurant staff can be when luring you to eat at their restaurant. Since the entire street is one Indian restaurant after the other, there's tons of competition. After passing by the first few places, we stopped at this particular one because of the lunch special. For $4.95, you get a soup, an appetizer, soda, a main course, rice, nan bread, thin unleavened bread for dipping, some random cabbage, and a coconut pudding for dessert. Whew! It sounds like a lot, right? Well it is! I was completely stuffed and didn't even finish everything.

The Service: The first time I went, the service took at long time, and I definitely felt the time crunch since I had to get to a class. There were quite a few people there on a weekday. I went back a second time on a Sunday and we were the only people there! I would highly recommend coming on a weekend for a brunch or late lunch to take advantage of the lunch special.

The Menu: For the appetizer, you can choose from a banana, vegetable, meat, or eggplant fritter. For the main course, there is a choice of lamb, beef, or chicken curry. There's also a yogurt dish with your choice of meat. The portions are not that huge, but keep in mind there is a lot of other stuff that comes with your meal. Since I am not a big fan of coconut, I cannot vouch for the pudding dessert myself, but both my eating partners claim it was very tasty and not too sweet.

The Atmosphere: The place is quaint - not too big but kind of cozy. During the week, it gets crowded but on Sunday it's almost empty. I think there was a cute family with young children there on the Sunday that I went. Although not majestic like the name implies, it is still a nice place. There isn't much decoration but that could be a good thing. Some of the other restaurants on the street have tacky red tinsel up all year round and flashing Christmas lights to match. This place was simple and clean. I noticed that the waiters are constantly changing your plate. I'm not sure why but I had maybe 3 or 4 plates during the course of my meal.

The Food: Overall, I'd say the food was pretty good. Although it's not anything fancy, it'll definitely fill you up and leave your wallet feeling happy.