Punjabi Tadka - Crossroads Bellevue — Restaurant in Bellevue

I felt sad. I had a favorite restaurant. I knew it couldn't survive The Plague, I knew the food was slowly getting worse, but I kept driving to Ballard, no matter how bad the traffic was. The staff was kind, passionate, and creative. The brand name & menu were wonderful. I liked the sign that said "No leather, no fur," and still do. But that sign became 200 empty seats, filled with an entire warehouse of cardboard & carry-out containers that would never be used.

It wasn't a friend in the local Restaurant Game that broke the news. It was a friend from the Polish side of Chicago. Years ago, when we were both Vegan, she had used her language skills to find unbelievable Tempura & Ramen in Downtown & the International District. She moved back Home for the deep-dish pizza, hot dogs smothered in cream cheese, and a fiance I can't wait to meet. The text came at 10am: Coffee Time in the Rainy City, time to eat in the Windy one. We were both devastated.

I knew I had to get in my car and start driving. Ignore my phone. Bury myself in a book. Too impatient to wait for Amazon, too flustered and overwhelmed to go to the Library. I floated, unmoored, until docking at Bellevue Crossroads. My strategy for Half Price Books was simple: Persuasion by Jane Austen, missed in high school; and The Queen's Gambit, by Walter Tevis. I found what I needed, and looked at the time on my phone. 3PM. Time for breakfast. Something simple, something cheap, I'm already right next to a food court.

But I found something better. A brand new Chaat joint, displaying all the tools to go from 1 store in the mall, to a 5,000+ square foot Flagship, then five stores, then 15 across Puget Sound. Flat-screen TVs, not chalkboards that need to be edited by hand. Clover POS, tried & true, not Toast, which is revolutionary enough to have over 50% market share, but still in Beta (millions of stakeholders in my industry are on edge, waiting to see if Toast's upcoming software update will be Toast 1.1, or Toast 2, Electric Boogaloo). I like Clover because it already works. And I liked the Talent I saw - people skills, tech skills, culinary talent, and leadership.

I googled a few things on the menu, then approached the counter. We started talking. He asked me about my spice tolerance three times. Would've kept asking me, if I hadn't told him that my life & palette started 100 kilometers outside of Dubai, and I welcomed an attempt at culinary assassination. "As spicy as YOU can handle, bro."

What I ordered doesn't matter. It's my favorite spot now. I'll be back, and I want to...

Revision/update to prior positive review: they face significant operations /business management challenges. They can’t fulfill orders on time or accurately. Multiple obviously dissatisfied waiting customers. They have capacity challenges . A dish we ordered stated that It comes w rice. They served us without rice. When I pointed this out, two of the three employees said to me that they don’t speak English - which is fine - but that creates a potential greater rift in the customer service experience . One of these two chaps then explained to me in Hindi (which I understand at a rudimentary level) that rice is technically not included w the Puri thalli - to which I then asked him then why does the menu state it does?? He had no response and said he would give me rice “complementary “. ??? Final hit: I ordered another dish which the well meaning team informed me they are essentially overwhelmed and hence won’t be able to fulfill after I had paid and was waiting. They gave me the option of replacing it with something else or refund. Now the finale - they couldn’t figure out how to work the technology to refund my credit card. I wish what appears to be a family owned business good luck - but I worry that their ongoing operations failures will cripple their venture. Previous rating : 5 star. Current rating : 2 stars in an otherwise crowded segment. They need to fix their operations , quickly .

Great authentic food. Very flavorful. Great addition to crossroads. Will come back! Dani bhalla: amazing medley of flavors - savory , sweet, spicy, crunchy, abound in flavor and texture and color. Takes a while to make but worth the wait - just like mom used to make it! Samosa : tasty and one is not enough. Platter w daal and paneer and chole: flavorful and just so tasty. This is fantastic basic Punjabi street fare. I think this place should consider optimizing the optics of their menu so that non familiar audiences can better understand what they’re ordering. Portions are strong and quality is top. I’ve been here twice in one week and will likely keep...

Located in the Crossroads Mall food court area, this is a purely vegetarian, North India cuisine offering. Though some thali items seemed a bit pricey at first, the serving size is generous for the flatbreads. We tried the Puri thali (platter) which came with 2 huge puris some basmathi rice, boondhi raita (fried chickpeas balls in yogurt), 1gulab Jamuna (sweet), some raw onions, a fried green chile. and fresh salted lime pickle, and 2 veggie sides from choice 5 entrees was shareable for 2 with moderate appetite, The lady at the counter was very helpful with describing the entree ingredients. On the day we visited, they had mutter paneer was a bit sweet, a mild potato gravy, a tangy kadi, dhal, and chole (chickpeas in gravy). All were pretty mild. She gave me a sample of the kadi. Wish they would switch frying to sunflower or peanut oil instead of Canola oil. The daily menu is on a small black board hidden near the ordering area. Would be informative if they added a label with ingredients in front of each pot of entree that is visible so that you can make an informed choice. They were making the fresh stuffed parthana that looked huge and delicious, bookmarked for next time. They had a decent list of chaat items, thali variations, and a veg biriyani on the menu. The server was a bit sloppy or the space in the tray isn’t deep enough so the gravy blended into the raitha. Not sure why they charge a tip since we pickup from counter and dispose the stuff as in any food court system. The best thing was that the food was not too spicy or greasy as I usually experience tummy regrets at most Indian restaurants. Suggestion for business, add some more authentic Punjabi dishes and use in season veggies like eggplant, bitter melon, to make it a standout “Punjabi” cuisine place and skip stuff like Manchurian, noodles, etc. we’d like the pure Punjabi food...