SuburbanEats: Rangoli

It's no secret we've never been impressed with the suburbs. Sure, they might be well-suited as places to raise children, but otherwise suburbs have frighteningly little to offer. You'll never see a respectable band outside of downtown, nor will you find much in the way of culture. Community theatre is NOT doing great things.But when it comes to food, it turns out there are exceptions to the rule.

 
If you like spicy (reallllly spicy try the
chili pakoras. They’re yummy, but
super-hot!).

Here in Ottawa, for example, the best Indian restaurant we’ve found is Rangoli (CEOT pg. 83) - all the way out in Orleans, 20 minutes drive out of the core. It truly is better than any of the downtown Indian eateries. The only exception is Ceylonta (CEOT pg.40), but technically that’s Sri Lankan, so the judgement still stands.

Being as good as it is then, we're forced to make the trek out to the suburbs every now and then for a meal.It seems to us that every Indian restaurant in town pushes its Butter Chicken – we’ve seen plenty of signs claiming “best Butter Chicken in Ottawa.” You won’t find that claim at Rangoli – in part because they’re not in Ottawa, and why would anyone claim the title of best Butter Chicken in Orleans?

And it’s not that the Butter Chicken is bad – quite the contrary, it’s wonderful – but the kick ass dish at Rangoli is the Chicken Tikka Masala. It’s to die for – a flavourful and rich dish that puts any butter chicken to shame. Get extra – you’ll want it to go. After all, you won’t want to drive out here again too soon.

Unfortunately, Rangoli isn’t open terribly late – so plan your visit. You don’t want to get all the way out there to find it closed. If that happens, you’ll be forced to find another SuburbanEatery, which still tend to focus too much, for our taste, on copy after copy of restaurant chains - Denny's, Kelsey's, Montana's, St-Hubert’s, Casey’s.

At least places like Rangoli help make the suburbs just a little less soul-crushing. No, we won't be moving out of the core any time soon, but this does give us another good reason not to get rid of the car!

Technorati Tags: R&M, rangoli, CheapEats Ottawa, CEOTv2, Ceylonta, Orleans, Ottawa, restaurant, Indian, Sri Lankan, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala

Comments

[Tiana]

I've tried Rangoli and I was really not pleased. And I live in Orleans!

I find the food tastes like all the sauces came out of a can. However, I have only been once so maybe I should try it again...

My vote for best Indian in town has always been East India Company since everything tastes like it was made from scratch that day.

[Lex]

Thanks Tiana, I'd love to know what you tried when you went to Rangoli.

Personally, I've been happy with the food at Rangoli when I've visited. Though I'm always disappointed by the size of the dishes and that the prices really stretch the limit of CheapEats - especially the price of the rice.

I haven't been to the East India Company in... well... let's just say it's been a LONG time. We've had a handful of recommendations for them, but as always our first step in checking a recommended restaurant for CheapEats is to check the prices. They don't even squeeze in.

However, the feedback on their food has always been excellent. (And the prices are reasonable, they just aren't cheap)

Thanks for letting us know about your experience at Rangoli, I'd love to hear your thoughts if you go back.

[Kelly Rusk]

There are some great places out in the West end too. My newest fave is the Cheshire Cat, a little pub actually outside of the suburbs in Carp (aka middle of nowhere). Has fantastic food, fun events & great atmosphere. Worth the hike out there.

[Lex]

Kelly - Thanks for the tip. How are the prices at the Cheshire Cat? We're always trying to find a spot around there that fits the price range.

[Kelly Rusk]

Prices are decent (though I don't know what your benchmark is).

mains are about $10-13. Actually, you can see for yourself, menu is online:
http://www.cheshirecatpub.com/mains.htm

[Lex]

Kelly,
thanks for the link.
For dinner the price caps at $15 including a drink and taxes, which works out to about $11.95 if a drink is $1. (Lunch/brunch <$10, breakfast <$5 which is rapidly becoming a rarity).