Urban Turban Bombay Kitchen & Tapas Bar informs vegasdesi of Chef’s Tarun Kapoor upcoming foray on a national television show.  Due to the contractual obligations, Urban Turban and Chef Kapoor are not disclosing the show, the timing or the TV channel.  Chef’s Kapoor has an outstanding culinary credentials with some of the distinguished Indian kitchens/hotels around India and abroad.  With Chef Kapoor in the kitchen, Urban Turban became the first local Indian restaurant to offer two-hour cooking “New Age Indian Cuisine” classes to the locals and visitors alike.  In 2016, Urban Turban was named the finalist in the Best of Las Vegas by the Las Vegas Review Journal.  Chef Kapoor brought Urban Turban to an astonishing heights of culinary excellence off the Las Vegas Strip along with rave reviews for his culinary distinction.

India Masala Oven Bar & Grill is under the new management.  India Masala’s previous owner Om Bahadur has sold the restaurant to Ulzan Mehta, previously of India Oven.  Ulzan has changed the name to Indian Masala Oven Bar & Grill.  After the closing of India Oven, Ulzan was actively looking for starting a new restaurant venture.  With over twenty years of culinary experience Ulzan bought India Masala to continue serving the customers of now shuttered India Oven.  For the first time in local Indian Restaurant operations, Ulzan has brought in a live Tandoor for Indian bread Nan and a Dosa station during the moderately priced lunch buffet and dinner hours.

Opening Soon – Taste Homestyle Indian Kitchen is a brainchild of a local Indian-Fiji community member Radha Naidu.  Located on Maryland Parkway, across the street from the UNLV Student Union, the restaurant is catering to the student world with a limited menu of fresh Indian cuisine.  Limited menu means limited menu as Taste offering includes only four choices of appetizers, three vegetarian bowls and three non-vegetarian bowls.  Instead of having a complex menu options for Indian food aficionados, the Taste is focusing on fresh flavorful ingredients for the most popular Indian dishes. The exact tentative opening date is uncertain, however, the owners are looking into sometime mid October to open the doors for the growing walk-in traffic around the University corridor.

New in the local dining scene, the India Curry House is an authentic South Indian restaurant catering to the local South Indian food aficinados with wide arrays of Dosas (all under $11), Biryanis’ and Curry Pots along with other classic Indian preparations. India Curry House is located in the China Town corridor on Spring Mountain Road at the SF Chinese Supermarket Plaza. All Curry pots come with a choice of bread or rice, while the choice Briyani is served with a bowl raita on the side.  Indian Curry House doesn’t serve a lunch buffet, however, they do have a unique thali concept during the lunch hours. India Curry has thalis from different regions of India with dishes unique to the region.  Chennai, Udipi and Dakshin Thali comes with the southern flavors.  Dakshin Thali includes Dosa and Vada along with other freshly prepared dishes in small individual bowls. While Kashmir thali includes Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Rogan Josh and vegetable of the day accompanied with Nan and Rice. Lucknowi thali has a flavor of old Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.  The owner/waiting staff has correctly named these thalis as buffet served on the table. There is a vegetarian options as well during the quick & easy lunch hour.

With incessant passion for the culinary creativity and customers’ unique palate in mind, the Mint India Restaurant, at the Durango location, is celebrating the Indian festival season and Vegan Awareness Month by going meatless on Sunday, October 1^st.  Yes, NO MEAT dishes for a day during the buffet hours. The celebratory vegetarian lunch buffet is inspired by the Gujarati specialties.  Chefs at the Mint India have prepared an extraordinary array of vegetarian “Gujarati Thali” menu in buffet style consisting of delicate appetizers, exotic vegetarian and vegan entrees along with multiple choices of desserts.

Closings…

Origin India Restaurant – After 10 years of splendid run Origin India closed its door due to the change in management and ownership.  Original owner Majid Raja ran the restaurant meticulously with focus on high level of customer service.  Originally, Majid brought trained chefs from England and India and was the first local Indian restauranteur to became a board member of the Nevada Restaurant Association. Origin India, the recipient of many high accolades, became the first local India restaurant to have a visit from the local and nationally recognized celebrity chefs including Maneet Chauhan and Rachel Ray of Food Network.  Rachel Ray taped a segment for her popular food network show at the Origin India.  Origin India chefs were invited to the James Beard Foundation in New York to show their culinary skills.  Origin India was actively involved in assisting numerous non-profit organizations by donating their time and culinary delights for fund raising activities. Majid has joined Urban Turban to bring in the market & customer oriented Indian food products.  Additionally, Majid’s Exquisite Catering is working with Indian Masala Oven & Urban Turban to provide high-end catering to the local Vegas hotels and resorts.

India Oven Restaurant, started by Jeetu Patel, is closed due to the lease issues with the property owners.  India Oven was one of the oldest restaurant in the valley which was originally located in a non-descript building on Sahara Avenue within walking distance from the strip.  During the construction frenzy, the property owner sold the land to a high-rise property developer who build Allure Las Vegas, a 41-story single tower residential complex.  With dedicated clientele, local and tourist alike, and a scrumptious menu, Mr. Patel decided to re-open India Oven on Paradise Road, closer to SLS Hotel & Casino and ran the restaurant with partner Ulzan Mehta for over 10 years. The then Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman inaugurated the new Indian Oven restaurant with over 100 invited guest in attendance on September 28th, 2005.

In a hyper competitive restaurant industry, the short-lived Jannat India Restaurant on Tropicana Avenue closed due to the business issues.  Sunny Arora, the original owner brought in two talented chefs from the local resorts to blend in the Northern and Southern Indian cuisine.  Jannat was the only Indian restaurant to offer al fresco dining option for its growing clientele.  Sunny has informed vegasdesi.com that he is exploring newer and better location to open his new restaurant.

Paradise India Restaurant – After a short stint, Paradise India restaurant closed its door due to lower than expected customer turnout and lease related issues.  Paradise Chef William is looking forward to reviving Origin India restaurant and planning to open the same under the new management.