CARDAMOM OPENING

Last week, I went to one of the best restaurant openings in recent memory! It was done just right. It was made-up of the most polite, pleasant people I’ve run into in quite awhile here in LA; everyone was great–from the girl with the list at the door, to the servers, to the PR people, to the owners, to the bartenders. Even the guests were well-behaved, which, trust me, is far from the norm at this type of event!

The salad and sauces table. Please excuse the blur–I was in a rush to start eating! Photo by Karen Salkin.

And Cardamom’s Indian food was so delicious. And plentiful!!! OMG! It did not stop coming!

First let me tell you about the edifice itself, on Beverly Blvd. The seating is sort-of intimate, but totally comfortable. And it’s fun that way! There’s also some patio seating, if you’re the dining-outdoors type.

For the party, the bar was set-up right when we walked in, to put everyone in a festive mood. On a table in that front room was a very fresh chopped salad, (which tasted a bit like a Greek salad,) and several famous Indian sauces. (I actually liked them all, which might be a first!)

The set-up on each table. Photo by Karen Salkin.

At each table were a few slim shot glasses filled with a liquid I believe to be tamarind, each topped with a chickpea cake. (I don’t know exact names yet; I’ll have to go back to do a full review to report all those correctly.)

Each group sat at its own table, and men came around with dishes of everything! There were lamb shish-kabobs, samosas, shrimp (done three ways!,) onion cakes, etc. I believe this exact style of Indian cuisine comes from London, but, again, I’ll find everything out down the road. Feel free to inquire for yourselves when you dine there, because, from the looks of them, the owners and company will be more than happy to tell you the whole story.

Maybe he’ll even tell you and me together because you can be sure I’ll be back there very soon!

7233 Beverly Boulevard 323-936-1000 www.cardamomla.com