ZOOBEAR MC LLC. — Restaurant in Town of Amsterdam

I have to say, there have been news articles about how Amsterdam FINALLY had an Indian restaurant. That's not true. There was one in the old hotel downtown. But steak and potatoes and pasta loving Amsterdam wasn't ready. Are they now? Who knows? But I don't give this place a chance of lasting long.

Anyone wanting to try Indian food should travel to Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga or Clifton Park where there are very many, quality sit down restaurants worth a few bucks of gas.

I decided to try this place for dinner take out. They had no menu to offer me, but a board with the available foods in a buffet style area. But the buffet looking area is protected by plexiglass, and not for us to dig in and dish for ourselves. All I can say is I felt like I was dreaming I was in the high school cafeteria, and they were sparsely serving Indian food.

I asked for something not on the board (korma) and they hemmed and hawed it would take the chef 10 minutes. Maybe I should have stuck with that choice? But instead, I went with the lunch lady. Lesson learned.

Word to wise: Each item is a la carte. Rice was $3. The daily special was $6.99 and what I chose was $5.99.

The takeout container had three spaces (see picture): One for the cheapest part possible (rice) and two smaller sections where my dish of choice (chicken tikka masala) and side (mushy, flavorless pakora) were reluctantly placed like it was platinum or palladium.

The 5 or 6 pieces of chicken were tender, but dry and flavorless even though they were soaking in the sauce for who knows how long?

As I said above, the pakora was bland compared to other places I have eaten.

Rice: $3.00 Chicken Tikka Masala: $5.99 Pakora (2): $2.00 Mango Lassie: $5.00 (a bit more pricey than many other restaurants, and in a plastic takeout cup).

For $18, the meal was edible, but not all that memorable. And beyond feeling like I was in high school at the cafeteria and the lunch lady and food were replaced, the dining area was pretty spartan with a cement floor. Not a place to take a date or the family for a nice, sit down dinner where you are waited on like others where the amount of food is greater at a similar price.

Anyone in the area who has not tried Indian food, should look in other areas so you will get a better idea of what good, quality meals of this ethnicity is about, and have a better atmosphere.

Two stars equals marginal food with a very...

It's not just the Chicken tikka masala that's good.

Usually I'm not all that exploratory when it comes to Indian food, as I'm normally pretty comfortable just getting the same thing every time.

Turns out, I should try different things every once in awhile.

Ended up ordering the Fried Gobi, Paneer Pakora, and Chicken Korma. Total came to a bit over $33, nothing great but that's acceptable for a once a week take-out dinner.

Back home I found the fried gobi must have been put in its container and closed immediately as it was not crispy at all, very soft and even a tad mushy. A big no no. Never seal fried food in a plastic container like this, let it breath a bit before closing the lid. The paneer pakora got the same treatment, and to be honest, I felt like it was a cheese that was even more bland than mozzarella. Had zero flavor, but luckily dipping into the chicken korma helped big time. Speaking of which the best part, the chicken korma, which I got medium heat, was delicious. The chicken was nice and thick, lots of meat, and the flavor of the sauce was brilliant. Savory, spicy, and with a great blend of herbs. The spice heat was just a tad over what I'm good handling, but I was able to offset it by alternating between the sauce and some fresh rice.

Overall a good experience but I wasn't totally blown away given the failures on the fried selections, however the staff is very nice so I could see...

Not sure who is giving this place 5 stars unless its friends and family. Everyone I've talked to who's eaten there has emphatically said they'd never go back again. I love Indian food and have eaten it all over the Capital Region and United States for context.

The food cost around $26 for each person which is what I expect to pay at a high class Indian restaurant with real plates, glasses, silverware, waiters serving you drinks, and a heaping pile of rice. Instead this place you get a tiny plastic mealprep box with plastic forks. Each little item you ask to add gets you an additional $2-$3 to the total price for a tiny little scoop.

The food wasn't even knockout flavorful but instead was very bland. The chef special Creamy Chicken Masala was watery and less creamy than the regular Chicken Masala which my companion got. All the side items needed salt to bring out any flavor. The garlic naan used what seemed to be garlic powder or garlic salt instead of chopped up garlic like every other Indian restaurant.

The only thing that was pretty good and reasonable were the lassi drinks already prepared in the cooler. The people were very nice and friendly, but unless both the prices and quality of cooking changes, I don't see it staying in business for very long, especially with the Asian Buffet next door providing...