Jason Sandford
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Menu
Has anyone else noticed that Chai Pani serves the same type of food that McDonald's in India serves? It's not exactly traditional Indian food. "Indian street food" is basically the result of Indians trying to compete with American fast food chains. Okra fries, tandoori fish wrap, burgers… Seriously?? I guess that's fine but people who think it's traditional Indian food are mistaken and obviously the food isn't healthy and probably doesn't encompass many fresh ingredients. Personally, I find the food to be strangely spiced and hardly edible.
i thought the food was good. the chat was fantastic the dish of the day was just ok. to go service was fast.
I agree, theres a place for all restaurants in this little town of ours. I think the blogs got a little heated because its very rare (in this town anyway) that when a new restaurant opens up other restaurants get flamed. Reading this blog you will see a number of restaurants flamed, Flying Frog, Mela, Table etc. Also the constant chirping of how many times someone has been to India to qualify them as an indian food critic is lame. Its almost like some goofy chant thats gone cosmicky! The regular ole Ashevillian knows good food and good service.
Hey MI! Still haven’t had a chance to get in to your new place; but, all this talk is motivating me to get up and try again soon! I’ve heard nothing but good stuff and I’m looking forward to tasting it for myself. I’m not an uptight "diner outer" type and I do enjoy all sorts of good ethnic varieties…fine dining or fast. People need to lighten up and adapt. You’re doing a fantastic job and have added a wonderful new dining experience to fabulous Asheville! Work through the understandable kinks and keep on keepin’ on!!
Wow! People are getting heated! Why does it have to be a war between Mela and Chai Pani? Or any other restaurant for that matter?! I think Chai Pani is a great little restaurant to get a snack and some chai, or a full meal and a beer. It is not a full service restaurant and doesn’t seem to pretend to be! I think it’s refreshing and great! I have been to India 7 times and believe me it is authentic! No more restaurant smearing! They are all good in their own way! Thanks!
Hello, I’d like to introduce myself as one of the owners of Chai Pani. A friend alerted me that this exchange about our restaurant was going on and I just wanted to put in our two cents and clarify a few things. We are a small, family owned and run business. We opened our doors to a wonderful reception and were quickly overwhelmed by the numbers we received. The response far surpassed any of our wildest projections for our small space. We have been working VERY hard to adjust our systems accordingly, hire more staff and train them well – all with the goal of providing consistently good quality food with the best local ingredients at the lowest prices possible.
We sincerely apologize to anyone who did not receive good service or were not happy with their food while we were in the midst of this rush and transition. We acknowledge that in the peak times of lines out the door, the consistency has not been perfect. But we want our customers to know that we are working hard to make the needed improvements, and each day we get closer to those goals. For anyone who was not happy with their experience, please come back and ask to see one of the owners. In this economy we believe that no one should have to pay for a meal that they were not pleased with. Come on in and let us know what happened – give us your feedback, and we’ll make it right. And to our wonderful fans – thank you for your patience and support!
On another note, we truly believe that there is room in our lovely town for fine dining Indian food which is being done very well at Mela, India Garden and Flying Frog – AND the casual version of street food that we provide. We do not see ourselves in competition with these restaurants, our menu is completely different, and we are not aiming to provide fine dining. They are extremely successful at what they do – and we are not trying to compete with that. We have full respect for the other Indian establishments in town and our family frequents all of them often. Our menu is designed to provide another type of cuisine from the vast array of food offered in the diverse land of India.
And lastly, in an attempt to provide some clarity… close to everything is made in house at Chai Pani. Our pickles and condiments are all homemade and the ingredients sourced locally as available, the samosas are made with hand rolled dough – nothing frozen or prepackaged, our breads are hand rolled and made with healthy oils, the mango lassi is real with all pure ingredients and no fillers or coloring. Our goal is to source as much as possible locally, and always to provide the highest quality available in our our price range. My mother in law (an amazing cook) came from India to train our cooks personally on the techniques of traditional healthy Indian cooking and passed on recipes that have been in our family for generations in India. If you have any questions about the quality of our food or how it’s made, please come ask us. We are thrilled to be a part of the Asheville community and view our little spot as a family joint where everyone is welcome – questions, feedback and all! And again, for anyone who was not happy with their experience, please come ask to see an owner, and we can chat over a cup of chai. We look forward to seeing you!
I have eaten at chai pani about five times, which is the same number of times I have been to India, and have thoroughly enjoyed each visit. Whereas Mela and India Garden serve up the kind of Indian food that tourists usually eat in India, Chai Pani delivers the goods that the locals eat….fresher, more flavorful, and far cheaper. Mela and India Garden do their thing well, no doubt. Chai Pani is dealing with a different kind of food–and totally rocks it. The street food in India is hot, fresh, and exploding with flavors and textures. Chai Pani does this perfectly. The only marked difference is that Chai Pani uses a lot less (and far cleaner) grease.
For those that complain, you must understand the differences between the fares these restaurants serve. Chai Pani does not cater to the enormous gullet of most American diners, who prefer buffet to fresh food. The reason that so many people feel that they leave Mela in a food coma is because they eat too much! At Chai Pani the portions have been reasonable, and filling. Also, Chai Pani’s bread (chapathi) is not naan, and is not meant to be. In India, chapathis are cooked on a griddle, not in a tandoori oven. The chapathi I got in my thali at Chai Pani was perfectly done. The food quantity and presentation has not always been consistent at Chai Pani, but that’s okay with me for now, because it has been consistently delicious. I can handle the month or two it might take to work the kinks out.
As for the service, it gets better each time I go in. I know they are working on their system, and I can handle that. I understand now that the food comes out tapas style, and that is fine with me. I also am fine with finding my own table and cleaning up after myself. When I want (and can afford) fine dining, I’ll go to Mela. But when I want something fast, delicious, authentic, cheap, and fun, I’ll go back to Chai Pani.
Poor "Jenny" or whatever her real name is. Sounds like a ex disgrunt reject from the restaurant business. Her posts are comedic, she had a "friend" who told her things. Do I smell desperation here? Her post has her timing items with a stop watch, 7 minutes for this, 6 minutes for that, 2 minutes for this, and a dish being a "spitting image" of a dish in india. Imagine a high brow little food critic sitting watching a stop watch as food comes out. LOL and I mean stomach aching LOL. And I loved the implored pairing of Chai Pani with Mamacitas, Zambra and 12 Bones! Please, please group us with them, we plead with you. Funny, high drama! Oh my god, Chai Pani is too good for us mere mortals who don’t understand the high brow art of eating cheap greasy street food. And whats with another poster comparing Table and Flying Frog to Chai Pani? Have you ever eaten at these restaurants? Probably one of "Jenny’s" friends. Please tell us more, tell us how we just don’t get it.
Checked Chai panni out Saturday night (after they reopened after "gettingtheir act back together.") This is NOT authentic indian–for that, travel down to Atlanta and pick any of the hole in the wall serve-on-styrofoam places scattered trhoughout Decatur (or try Saravanna Bhavan for a real treat!) and you will have a food experience 100 times better and worth the 3 hour drive. As for the Chai Panni experience, they were out of samosas at 7:30 on a Saturday night, the aloo chole was passably tasty but not authentic, and the vegetarian thali plates were a complete dissapointment–I’ve heard of portion control, but give me a break! Four small okra pods per thali serving??? And what was with the industrial whole wheat tortillas served as bread? They need to stick to the street food and step away form the thali plates if they can’t do them well–and make sure they don’t run out of core items early on a Saturday night.
Much agreed about the freshness of Mela. Food coloring plays no part in the preparation of their meals. It’s an Asheville favorite for excellent reason and will continue to be for a long time to come.
I think that customers that are having mini meltdowns need to realize that the prices Chai Pani charges are very reasonable and cheap. If you want to complain about the lack of service, having to buss your own table or having to tip then go eat at Table or Flying Frog and see how much you have to pay (and the food is not HALF as good either!!!). If you dont want to tip, get a pizza and a LIFE! But please do not disrespect a restaurant just they because they don’t have table service or you don’t understand the food. Open your eyes, read a little, and learn about indian street food before hyperventilating and heaving up complaints. What a bunch of trust fund whiners. I totally agree with Jenny that this is a different kind of restaurant and deserves a break.
I know the Mela you are talking about, and I can promise you that the food is not all made from scratch from fresh ingredients. Just ask anyone who has ever worked there (there should be plenty of employees and ex-employees to choose from since Anoop has such high turnover). When a friend of mine who worked there asked one of the cooks about the amount of food coloring they put into the food (that’s not saffron or tandoori peppers coloring the food, folks) they told her "well if you didn’t wear makeup then no one would look at you either." Honestly the food at Mela still tastes good, food coloring included, and many people will still prefer their Americanized Chicken Tika Masala. I’m just happy to have an Indian restaurant that serves a wider range of authentic Indian cooking.
Come on everyone, lets give Chai Pani a chance! Asheville needs an indian fast food joint, especially since there is no fast food downtown. One recommendation though, Chai Pani needs to start making its own appetizers, breads and sauces. Asheville may not be a big, sophisticated city but we do know real good food (and service) and we don’t like lectures about how we are spposed to eat.
Wow, I don’t think Jenny has eaten at the same Mela that I have. The Mela that I eat at regularly is on Lexington Avenue in Asheville — at that Mela, everything is made at the restaurant from scratch out of fresh foods, a lot of them organic. It’s a beautiful restaurant where you can sit down and be served and it has been a well-loved addition to Asheville — voted favorite restaurant last year in the Mountain Xpress poll, recommended by the New York Times. Maybe Jenny has eaten at some Mela in New Jersey or something. As for this Indian fast food at Chai Panni, I haven’t tried it yet. I know I love the beer and buffet at lunch at Mela.
Wow, sounds like I had a much different experience than EastWestAshe! I ate at Chai Pani for the first time the other day and had a wonderful experience. Finally, an Asheville Indian restaurant serving food that isn’t poured straight out of a jar and filled with food coloring (*cough* Mela *cough*). Here’s how it went down:
A friend and I walked into Chai Pani late last week during the middle of the lunch rush. There was a line out the door but I grabbed a takeout menu from the wall and we had our order in mind by the time we reached the counter. I think the most expensive thing we ordered was six bucks. Having dined many times at places like Mammacitas and 12 Bones, I was perfectly comfortable finding my own seat. Like the previous poster, there weren’t any tables available when I first ordered, but I took a seat at the bar with a friend and waited (maybe three to five minutes) for a table to free up. If scouting your own seat feels like too daunting a task, by all means, go to another restaurant and leave the delicious food at places like 12 bones, Mammacitas and Chai Pani to those of us who can handle the street food experience.
We were warned that the food would come out, like traditional street food, as soon as it was ready, not all together like a normal American meal. This didn’t bother me in the slightest because Tapas (yay Zambra!) is my favorite way to eat. If sharing dishes and getting some plates faster than others is going to be a problem for you, you might want to try a different restaurant. Seriously though, how much fun is sharing and tasting a variety of different dishes as they come straight out of the kitchen?
We ordered Samosa Cholle, Okra Fries, Bhel Puri, Aloo Tiki Cholle and a Tandoori Fish Wrap. The fastest dish came out in 7 minutes (I timed it) and we had all of our food in front of us in 12 minutes. My least favorite was the Bhel Puri, a chilled dish made with puffed rice and yogurt. My friend loved it though and said it was the spitting image of Bhel Puri she had gotten many times in India. I haven’t been to India myself, so perhaps I just haven’t acquired the taste. Everything else, however, was amazing. Hot, flavorful, complex, delicious! I especially liked the Aloo Tiki Cholle, spiced potato patties served with mint and tamarind chutney and topped with curried lentils. Wow. I think I’ve just found my new comfort food.
As I’ve mentioned, there are a few things about Chai Pani that are different than the standard American fare, and this will take many Ashevillians some time to get used to. If waiting in a busy restaurant for a table, seating yourself, and eating food as it comes out is going to send you into a hissy-fit, maybe you should stick to Mela and The Olive Garden. But if these things sound like something you can handle, or even enjoy, I would definitely recommend Chai Pani for a delicious, inexpensive, quick bite to eat.
Yes, it was slammed. I was there. And for those who were not, count your blessings, Here’s how it went down. When our party of four walked in, there was no greeter or clear method of service. We asked an employee what to do and she seemed just as confused as we were. We were told to take a menu, compile our orders, pay at the cashier and take a number. As the place was full our next question was "who will seat us?" The reply from the hipster employee in the typical Asheville laissez fair (or I could care less) attitude, was "just hang around until a seat opens up." All the while there were at least three other groups waiting. So we did. We stood around continuously being bumped and jostled in the small area we portioned out as our waiting area. About twenty minutes later, a small table opened up. Never mind the fact that, just before us, two women took a booth versus the open two top.
Minutes later, someone came over to wipe down the table, hooray! This is when the real fun began. Within ten minutes, one of three appetizers arrived. Ten minutes later, two entrees, then another appetizer, a third entree. So while three of us were eating our fourth entree arrived after we were done.
Now for the food. Let me say that I have never been to India however, I imagine that the street food there is far superior. Everything was cold, bland and at least one thing, which could not be identified, was down-right disgusting. The most tasteful item on my plate was the half teaspoon of relish. I wish I had had a whole ramequin of it to spread around the "food."
And as if this whole experience could not get any worse, by the end of the meal, we were expected to bus our own table and leave a tip.
My last words…Dear owners of Chai Pani, this may be Asheville and we may let a lot slide but, your concept of food service is wholly unacceptable, your "food" is terrible and your "service" is non-existent. If you ever expect our, or any other party of four to come in again, drop the crap. Seat people, take their order and serve some decent food!