http://www.flavorsmemphis.com
It dawned on me recently that I have never had Indian food before. Memphis actually has several options for the cuisine that I have never visited. My brother talks highly of the food and assured me I would love it, being a chilihead and all. It became time to give it a try and that day would be last Thursday. I found a popular buffet in Southwind on Urbanspoon and figured this would be a good place to introduce me to a new area of hot and spicy food. I couldn't have been anymore correct with this prediction.
We met up at Flavours Indian Cuisine off of Hacks Cross just south of 385. Located in a shopping center behind Chow Time is this packed establishment where people have been burning their mouths for a few years. When we walked in, I noticed half the patrons were fellow Indians which gave me an instant impression that this is authentic Indian food. We were seated and placed drink orders for two waters and got in line for the small buffet in the back corner. I was unable to recognize any names of the dishes so I grabbed a little bit of everything, filling my plate with wonderful smelling food. I made my way back to the table where I found an entire pitcher of water waiting for us. Surly this is a sign to come for a good mouth burning.
I sat down and started with a tomato based soup called ransam. I was instantly blown away with the flavor and spice of the small bowl and knew I was in for a great meal. I ate the rest of my plate and went back for seconds, filtering through the dishes that I really enjoyed in my first round. I came back with a plate filled with ransam soup over white rice, andhra chicken curry and tandoori chicken. The curry was some of the best that I have ever had. I have been to Thailand and Japan and this ranks right up there with dishes I have had in my travels. It was fairly spicy but not as much as the ransam. The tandoori chicken is marinated in a wonderful blend of herbs and spices and appeared to be smoked or steamed. I ate the tandoori chicken pieces with my hands as you would any other piece of chicken and after finishing a few, I noticed my fingers were turning yellow from the curry powder that was obviously coating the bird. This made both my brother and I laugh. Another thing we were both doing was sweating, profusely. The establishment didn't seem to have any running air conditioning but that was a lame reason to excuse the burn in our mouths. I was able to maintain the heat with naan bread and glasses of water. The pitcher was half gone by the end of our meals and we made our way to the register to pay our $8 each.
From what I have heard, Flavours has changed their menu and name over the years. They tried going all vegan which seemed to have backfired, leaving them to bring back the meaty dishes. Personally, I am glad they did, but they still do offer several dishes without meat so this should not turn off the vegans out there. Lunch hours is when you'll find the buffet but everything is available per dish order for dinner. If you're in the mood for something different and want to spice up your lunch or dinner, head over to Southwind and check out Flavours but be sure to come hungry. This stuff will stick with you all day long!
