Indian food for infinite appetites

Star of India

412 South Craig St.

Pittsburgh, PA

(412) 681-5700

Hours: Mon. – Thu., Sun. 5… Star of India

412 South Craig St.

Pittsburgh, PA

(412) 681-5700

Hours: Mon. – Thu., Sun. 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.; Fri. – Sat. 5p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

Into buffets? It seems as though just about everyone in Oakland swears by Forbes Avenue’s China Buffet as a top choice for lunchtime Asian cuisine: It’s cheap, there’s lots of it and you don’t even need to wait around for a server. If you’re a lover of the famous China Buffet, you should also enjoy Star of India.

The restaurant on South Craig Street is a less noted though similar gem, offering a $7.95 lunch buffet in northern Indian style every day from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. In 30 minutes, you can scarf down at least two plates full of fresh “Star” salad, seasoned rice and tasty meat and vegetarian entrees — and still have time to get to and from classes without rushing like a maniac (and losing your lunch in the process).

Star of India serves traditional tandoori and basmati rice, as well as beef, lamb, seafood and vegetarian entrees. The restaurant itself is small and tidy, its walls covered with wood paneling interrupted by little shelves containing various gold collectables like candlesticks and horse figurines.

Fake plants hang from the ceiling and traditional Indian paintings decorate the walls, the latter creating an impression of authenticity, which is enhanced by upbeat Indian music and the delicious — though not incredibly spicy — smell. Star’s offers very mild food for their lunch buffet, but customers can order the same entrees from the menu at full price and specify their desired degree of seasoning.

While the menu may vary from day to day, Star’s selection on a Monday is satisfying and tasty. The restaurant is bustling with students, families and businessmen who constantly get up to grab more food as it’s replaced by chefs. Servers float around filling water a little too often, but the help is friendly and eager to please. The food seems infinite as it’s replaced, and we get up several times to sample different dishes and grab more Nan bread, a popular item that runs out quickly.

Star offers Pakora (regularly $2.95), a bite-sized yellowish mash of cauliflower and potatoes which have been dipped in chickpea batter and fried, along with classic mint chutney ($1.50) as an appetizer.

The minty dipping sauce, which is also flavored with green chili and coriander, is one of the only spicy items at the buffet and serves as a tempting sauce for the plain Nan bread ($1.95). The bread is similar to pita bread in its thinness and shape, but it’s more flavorful and a bit greasier. Like pita, it can be used to pick up other items on the menu, such as the pumpkin-colored chicken Vindaloo ($8.95), which consists of meat and potatoes swimming in a mild, tomato-based Himalayan curry sauce.

The chicken Vindaloo is also delicious poured over the Pulao rice ($2.95), which is cooked with saffron, spices and garden peas. Like in many Indian dishes, the rice serves as a neutral base for the strong-tasting entree.

Other entrees include Tarka Daal ($8.95), a vegetarian dish of lentils and garlic and Aloo Matar ($8.95), which includes sweet potatoes and peas doused in a cream sauce. Some other items on the menu, which were not found at the buffet, are worth noting: everyone’s favorite, chicken Tikka ($9.95), lamb and chicken-filled Mulligatawny soup ($2.50), Bharatha ($8.95), which is a dish with eggplant cooked in spices and herbs, “the champagne of tea,” otherwise known as Darjeeling ($1.25) and sweet mango ice cream ($2.95).

If you’re a spice fiend and are hoping that Star’s buffet will serve your taste buds well, you may be disappointed. That signature feeling — the spiciness in the chest and mouth that is left over after eating most Indian food — is almost totally absent. But those who enjoy much more mild Indian food will be in heaven with Star of India’s flavorful and satisfying buffet.