Dabbawalla (NJ)

427 Springfield Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901, 908.918.0330

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Cost per person: $40 (full menu, not the lunch menu)
"YGWYPF" factor: 9.5/10 (you get what you pay for)
Food: 9.5/10
ambiance: 8.5/10

I must say, it's been a while since we've visited an Indian restaurant and been impressed. For one, there aren't that many that we have not visited. The ones in Curry Hill are good for lunches, the ones in midtown east (50's and 2nd-3rd) are great for upscale dinners, but have already been tried out. Nothing like a bit of an attitude to pique interests. The Kati Roll Company has abundant amounts of it, but the regular restaurants are rather bland. Dabbawalla, I'm glad to say, fits in perfectly.
Soma and I drove 75 miles to get to this place on a sunny Saturday morning. The decor is - for the lack of a better word - interesting. Loud, Warhol-esque colors, "dining hall" feel with rows of sofa/benches (but rather nice to sit on), and an oversized cooking area - everything to make people feel "in touch with the masses of Bombay", but still be confined in the creature-comforts of a spick and span area, brushed steel and retro pictures everywhere, and good seating. If anyone here were to really visit the regular dining halls that this mimics, I doubt if s/he would be able to touch any of the food - or, rather, anything at all - there.
Anyway - it's all good so far, and we sit down with the menu.

Note: this was last year, and the entry was never published, so I'm publishing this half-baked review in for now. I definitely recommend Dabbawalla! If I can remember what we ordered, I'll fill it in. Sorry!