Holy Cow Indian Express

ananimalfriendlylife.com - Dec 27 06

Neat little hole-in-the-wall finally responds to my frequent question, "Why isn't there an Indian fast food restaurant?"

Of course, Indian is pretty fast to begin with, and the prices here aren't really significantly lower than prices at family-run Indian restaurants all over town, which is a disappointment. With the quick-serve atmosphere--everything from styrofoam dishes to retrieving your completed meal at the counter and clearing your own table... no bathroom, even--you expect the prices to be noticeably lower than restaurants that offer sit-down service on real plates, say $5 or $6 for a dish of Channa instead of $6.95. Sure, there are many Indian restaurants that serve similar dishes for $8 or $9, so this is relatively reasonable. Just be aware that this isn't the Indian Baja Fresh, if you will, and that's what I had hoped for when I drove by and saw the sign.

Then again, Holy Cow has many more menu options for vegans, and they are mouth-watering. It's great to enter a restaurant that is ghee-free, has a clearly delineated vegetarian menu (practically vegan), and will even offer a vegan whole wheat paratha after 1/1/07.

The lunch specials are also veg-friendly, all priced at $6.95, including the vegetable of the day, rice and nan. That's a serious meal. And you get 8 options to choose from, an identical number to the non-vegetarian options, all of which are $1 or $2 more.

For dinner, I tried the Channa, which was pretty good, and the Dal Sag, which was excellent. I was kind of thrown by the occasional kidney bean in that second dish at first, but they worked fine with the dish, and gave it an extra dose of protein to go with the lentils. All vegetarian options are $6.95 at dinner, but they are sold a la carte, so rice is an extra $2.50, and the vegan paratha will set you back $1.50 (sure to be worth it).

I didn't have room to try any appetizers ("snacks" on their menu), but I took a look. The veggie options range from $3.50 - $6.95.

Bottom line, this place is worth a try for dinner if, like me, you're used to paying closer to $8 or $9 for good Indian food, but you'll want to consider the environmental impact of all the styrofoam you'll be responsible for, and you'll want to keep in mind all the self service before you get too generous on the tip line of the cash register receipt.

The best deal Holy Cow offers, if you are veg*n and live or work in the area, is that lunch special. It's an inexpensive way to satisfy your craving for Indian food quickly.