My favorite Indian restaurant, Surya, will close by the end of this week after 10 years of producing marvelous food.
It was unthinkable not to have one last meal there. And that last meal was as good as any I have had in the past. This makes the closing all the more painful.
Because I couldn't choose among so many favorite dishes, owner Sheel Joshi decided what I should eat.
The appetizer was ginger lamb--lamb tikka masala cut into strips rather than chunks and fiery red with its juices. The meat had been marinated with orange juice and chiles, including a touch of habanero, and seasoned with rosemary and strips of gingerroot.
It's an art to cook fish in the tandoor so that it doesn't dry out, but tandoori seabass has always been one of Surya's best dishes, moist and tender throughout, yet with a wisp of crust at the edges.
Joshi had found fresh methi (fenugreek leaves) in an Indian shop, and those gave a delicate herbal flavor to chicken in a spicy, rich, slightly tart sauce. This was a new dish to me, as I always order Surya's signature chicken Mangalorean.
The accompaniments were saffron rice with peas and lots of naan.
Surya is upscale Indian, white tablecloths and all that, and has a good wine list. The wine for this last dinner was Pellegrini Milestone 2006, a blend of Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. It was full-flavored and fruity, very good with this food.
After so much rich Indian food, the only dessert advisable was mango sorbet frozen in a mango shell.
Although Surya will close, much of the menu will continue to be available at Joshi's smaller, more spartan place, Holy Cow, which is located a few blocks west on the same street. This was some consolation as I walked away with a sack of leftovers to continue my last meal for another day or two.
Surya Indian restaurant, 8048 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, Ca 90048. Tel: (323) 653-5151..
Holy Cow, 8474 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048. Tel: (323) 852-8900.
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