Out to Lunch: Maharaja Lunch Buffet

This is surely one of the best hidden lunch spots in the city. Even better than Jake's. The lunch buffet at Maharaja is only $9.95 and includes as many gulab jamun (those syrup-soaked donut-holes) as I want. I also love it because buffets makes trying foreign or strange foods ten times easier. I always worry when I order something new with an unpronounceable name that I will end up with something very spicy or very weird. Because of that, I've shied away from Indian restaurants for years. But here, I try a little of everything and take iPhone notes of what I like.

Here are some of my new favorites:
Matar Paneer: peas and homemade cottage cheese stewed in a ginger curry sauce
Avial: Mixed vegetables (yams, gourds, bananas, beans) in a coconut curry with chiles.
Vattalappam: steamed rice and coconut cake with dried fruit/raisins
Lamb Shahi Korma: Lamb in saffron, almond, and cardamon sauce