S.J. RESTAURANT JOINS TREND OF GOING UPSCALE

A twist on traditional Indian cuisine at Rangoli

By Aleta WatsonMercury News

The first promising sign when you walk through the front door of Rangoli at lunch is the tantalizing aromas of cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger drifting on the air.

The second is the warm greeting from the host, who guides you to a table draped in white linen and invites you to explore a double row of gleaming chafing dishes crowned with silver domes.

It's clear from the start this is no ordinary Indian buffet.

Rangoli, tucked into a shopping center in the less-than-fashionable Cambrian Park district of San Jose, is part of a new generation of Indian restaurants. After years of catering primarily to expat engineers and culinary adventurers, local South Asian restaurateurs are going upscale.

They're dressing up their dining rooms, introducing wine lists or cocktails, and reaching out to a wider audience. The most sophisticated and expensive take a cosmopolitan approach, applying Indian flavors and cooking techniques to more typically Californian ingredients.

Rangoli is a neighborhood place that sticks closer to tradition than some of this new generation with a small menu focused on North Indian standards and a handful of intriguing variations, such as lobster samosas. The 90-seat dining room, decorated in pale pistachio and shades of violet with more imagination than money, is appealing.

The food is fresh and lively, prepared with care from excellent ingredients. Prices, although higher than those at many old-style Indian restaurants, are generally moderate. Servers are eager to please.

"We can adjust spices for you," the hostess offered as she seated us one evening. "If you want a curry, we can change around the meats. We play with our food."

At lunch, the restaurant bustles with high-tech workers from the nearby eBay, Qualcomm and Xilinx campuses, all making the rounds of the well-stocked buffet. When owner Sukhpal Singh and son Sonu Singh opened in July, in the space formerly occupied by Host India, they did not plan to serve a lunch buffet. But customers balked, and the buffet was born.

"With Indian food, it's really what everyone wants," says the younger Singh, noting that even ritzy Amber India in Santana Row offers a buffet at lunch.

From the crispy samosas filled with a spicy mix of warm potatoes and peas to the light and creamy rice pudding sprinkled with pistachios, the buffet dishes were consistently good at my lunch. One row of chafing dishes offered chicken and lamb options. The other presented vegetarian choices. The dishes, made in small batches, were replenished regularly.

Among the highlights were a saute of zucchini and multi-colored bell peppers with whole cloves of garlic and an exemplary chicken tikka masala, the chunks of tandoori-roasted chicken breast swimming in a zippy tomato sauce, spiked with fenugreek and softened with cream and ground cashews.

A basket of buttery hot naan, which arrived at the table soon after we returned from the buffet, is included in the $9.99 price. Tangy mango lassi ($4) is not.

Sukhpal Singh, who also owns Rangoli Sweets, an Indian bakery in Santa Clara, is the executive chef. The food reflects his roots in New Delhi, although the free-range lamb is from Australia.

Sonu Singh who runs the front of the house and assisted with the design, is also the sommelier. His list of nearly 60 wines ranges the world, with selections from California, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and India, most running less than $50. They include sancerre from the Loire Valley of France, gruner veltliner from Austria and tempranillo from Spain.

More than a dozen wines, available by the glass at $6 to $9, are served from a temperature-controlled Cruvinet system to preserve freshness.

At dinner, the menu shifts to small plates, classic entrees, creative fish dishes and a variety of lamb dishes. Business was slow when my companion and I arrived in midweek, but that did not diminish the enthusiasm of the staff, who greeted us warmly and took pains to ensure we enjoyed ourselves.

Rangoli's ambitions are apparent in its stylish design. Long, filmy curtains screen the view of the parking lot outside, and half walls pierced with the distinctive ogee arches of India divide the cavernous dining room. A sculpture of the elephant-headed Ganesh, the god of success, graces the reception desk alongside an impressionistic mural of the Hindu god Krishna and his beloved Rada. Sanskrit verses from the Bahagavad Gita decorate the walls, although Sonu Singh confesses he's not certain what they say. Fusion music featuring tabla and sitar plays in the background.

Among the starters, a pair of luscious trumpet mushrooms ($9) marinated in spices and roasted in the tandoor was most successful, their flesh as delicate as scallops. The trio of lobster samosas ($11), presented in a porcelain cup, were hot and flavorful, but it was difficult to find the lobster. Vivid mango, coriander-mint and tamarind chutneys, bright as jewels, came with them.

Entrees include a terrific baingan bhartha ($12), an incendiary blend of tomatoes, onions and eggplant, soft and smoky from the high-temperature tandoor. Even the paneer saag-wala ($12), a nicely textured puree of spinach with cubes of mild cheese, packs a lot of heat. As our waiter warned when we told him we liked spicy food, "It's Indian hot. You probably want regular heat - medium."

Ahi tuna ($20), roasted in the tandoor, was tender and moist with an unusual velvety texture. Fragrant coconut milk tempered the slowly unfolding heat of fork-tender lamb madras ($17), served in a copper bowl.

There are few choices for dessert, even though the elder Singh specializes in sweets at his Santa Clara shop. Still, it's hard to beat the gulab jamun ($5). The golden fried balls of milk dough batter are served hot in a light syrup with just a whisper of rose water and saffron to add interest.

The classics get the attention they deserve at Rangoli.

Rangoli
3695 Union Ave., at Camden, San Jose
(408) 377-2222 www.rangolica.com.

***
The Dish: Colorful modern style, fresh renditions of classic dishes and an approachable wine list lift this neighborhood Indian restaurant out of the ordinary.

Price range: Lunch buffet $9.99. Dinner appetizers $5-$11, entrees $10-$22. Corkage fee: $15.
Details: Indian beer and wine.

Pluses: Memorable tandoori trumpet mushrooms and praiseworthy chicken tikka masala.
Minuses: Lobster samosas are short on shellfish.

Hours: Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays- Fridays. Dinner 5-9:30 p.m. Sundays- Thursdays, till 10 Fridays and Saturdays.

Restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously. The Mercury News pays for all meals.
To read more restaurant reviews, go to www.mercury news.com/aletawatson. Contact Aleta Watson at awatson@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5032.

Historic San Jose home to be restored

By Sandra Gonzales
Mercury News
Posted: 01/27/2009 06:31:50 PM PST

Casa Grande, a sprawling house built in 1855 in San Jose's New Almaden mining settlement, is about to be restored to its full grandeur.

The $5 million rehabilitation of the red brick Federalist-revival building will include seismic upgrades and restoration of the interior and exterior.

"When we have historic treasures like Casa Grande, we have an obligation to preserve them for the community and future generations," said Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor of Don Gage in a statement.

At one time, Almaden was the most valuable single mine in California and played a key role before and during the Gold Rush of 1849.

Casa Grande sits within the Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Between 1927 and the county's acquisition of Casa Grande in 1997, the 7,756-square foot building has served as a resort, saloon, restaurant, house, post office, dance hall, theater and office space.

The funding is provided by a variety of sources including the Santa Clara County Historical Heritage Grant Program, the California Heritage Grant and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Grant.

Bevilacqua and Sons, a general contracting firm in San Francisco will oversee the project.