By JENN HARRINGTON  and KAELA MASON

Thali Too

Thali Too (65 Broadway) is located in downtown New Haven, hidden in an alleyway right past the Yale campus bookstore. Upon entering the restaurant, we were introduced to a small taste of Indian culture. The restaurant serves vegetarian cuisine with a college student’s budget in mind. Low lighting made for a warm atmosphere, accented by decorations of the Indian culture. We were seated along the window as soon as we arrived. Service was friendly, but a slow while waiting for the food.

We were both new to Indian cuisine, so we started with an order of Masala fries which are your average order of fries covered in cayenne pepper, served with ketchup dipping sauce. They were definitely spicy, but delicious. Our main orders differed; one of us requesting suggestions from our waiter and another choosing based on description.

Kaela’s order (suggested by our waiter): Malai Kofta. This dish contains potato and paneer cheese balls in cardamom sauce and is served with a side of Basmati rice. The sauce was sweet and tasty, much like honey mustard and accented the potato nicely. Brown rice would have been preferred over the white Basmati rice due to personal tastes.

Jenn’s order: Tofu Sabji Jafraizie, a tofu stir-fry with fresh cut vegetables. It resembled a tomato stew and was delicious with the Basmati rice. The tofu was not too soggy, which can be hard to find in vegetarian cuisine. Our waiter also brought out pita-style bread that we each dipped into our sauces.

The price is very reasonable for college students. The average entrée is around $12. This restaurant is recommended for vegetarians as no dish includes meat. There are also vegan options. It is worthy to note that most dishes include a sauce, so if you aren’t a sauce fan you may not want to choose this as your next dinner location. Overall, the experience was enjoyable and we each stepped out of our comfort zone.