Red Chilli, Luton (15th January 2013)

Simon's second solo visit for 2013 took him to the centre of Luton to experience the Red Chilli gourmet night, deal included starter, main, side, rice or naan and coffee for £9.95.  Not surprisingly the restaurant was busy for a Tuesday.

Poppadoms arrived with a selection of six pickles, two onion salads, mango chutney, lime pickle, mint sauce and coconut - all very good and if on an official scoring night would have secured a high score.

Opted for a fish starter (£2.50 supplement) - Mass Bora which is a dry spicy fishcake, needed the mint sauce to help it out, had a decent amount of spice but probably not one I would choose again.

Main course - chilli paneer with boiled rice, very good dish, rich sauce, plenty of it too.  Quite hot as one would expect, with planty of green chillies. 

One of the better curry houses in Luton and worth a visit.

96-104 Wellington Street
Luton
Bedfordshire

Tel: 01582 480055
Website: http://www.theredchillirestaurant.com/luton/index.html

Madras Chettinaad, Atlanta (13th January 2013)

Lee's Atlanta Indian experience was at a south indian restaurant.

Lee started with an all-time favourite Chilli Paneer with extra green chilli to make it hit the spice rating required - the dish didn't disappoint, tasty paneer with some heat and plenty of it!

For main, lee choose off the specials, veg chettinaad curry with set uthappam (lentil pancakes), with a saag paneer and the obligatory extra green chillies.

Food was very tasty and all had a hint of spice and enough for a box to take left overs home for a late night snack!

Certainly recommended if in Alpharetta, Atlanta Georgia!

4305 State Bridge Road

108 Alpharetta,

GA 30022,

United States

Tel: 678.393.3131

Website: http://madraschettinaad.com/

Shabs, Bedford (8th January 2013)

Score: 9.167
Price: £15-20

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The first 2013 SLT curry club trip was a recommendation from Lee following a previous visit here with his family.  The boys departed Sandy and arrived at Shabs on Tavistock Street, via St Neots train station to collect Lee.

The 50% off all food (Sunday to Thursday) was a reassuring sight as we arrived.  Tony clutching his carrier bag of pickles that he decided to bring to accompany the provided pickles tray - a first for Lee and Simon to see someone bring their own pickles to a restaurant!

The pickles arrived, 5 in total which included 2 onion pickles, mango pickle and mint sauce, supplemented with the lime pickle which the waiter gave to us once Lee asked.  All enjoyed which gave the restaurant a reasonable start with the scoring.

The starters were a trio of Panner Shashlik - good flavoursome food, plenty of peppers (all 3 colours used), tomatoes and onions.  All in all a lovely dish - just needed to be more paneer to increase the score.

The mains arrived - Lee opted for Veg Vinda, which was excellent, brought out a light sweat, Tony went for Veg Korahi, which he commented on as being delicious.  Simon opted for Chicken Rezala, chicken roasted in a tandoori oven, cooked with minced meat with a touch of garlic - medium spiced.  Served with naan and mushroom and plain rice.  Simon and Lee made sure that the washing up was minimised by using the naan to clean their dishes and plates, Tony opting to keep some of his for lunch the following day.  Lee and Simon gave 10s for their meal, Tony a 9.5 - excellent food.

Mains done, time for dessert.  Simon and Lee opted for a Fantastica and Tony went for a Pina Colada which finished the meal off nicely.

Service excellent throughout the meal - no problem with bringing in our own pickles - a well deserved 10 scored

Complimentary drinks followed, bill arrived for £48 so good value for money.

Excellent food, good VFM and attentive service - one which should be visited when in Bedford.

75 Tavistock Street

Bedford

MK40 2RR

Tel: 01234 346634

Khans, Luton (4th January 2013)

Simon's solo outing, the first in 2013, took him to a hidden away curry house in Luton, Khans, with a few work colleagues, recommneded by Asif.

Simon went for panneer shashlik, which was a bit of a disappointment, quite bland and lacking in a lot of flavour.  Mains followed, recommended by Asif's wife, Murgh Lahori Karahi, a chicken dish which had a rich dry spicy sauce.  Sauce was a medium heat and very tasty, served with a Nan.

Desert followed - a big piece of chocolate cake which Simon and Asia shared as it was too big for both.

All in all not a bad restaurant, starter disappointing but mains very full of flavour.

215 Selbourne Road,

Luton.

Tel: 01582 848888