East India Grill is the Best Buffet in Tacoma/Federal Way Area
Indian food is my favorite cuisine of all the world’s offerings. I’ve tried every restaurant within 50 miles of Tacoma, and many beyond. In terms of overall food quality, Olympia’s Curry Corner and the Little India Express in Freighthouse Square are worthy competitors for the top spots, but when it comes to the buffet, the best I’ve ever found is the East India Grill.
I’ve eaten the East India buffet more times than I can count, and every time have found it to be top quality. The food is never stale or cold, and is always delicious. The servers are also very attentive and quick to refill beverages.
Curry Corner of Olympia
Determining my favorite overall Indian food in the area isn’t easy, but if someone were to force me to make the decision, Curry Corner would probably be my choice.
The restaurant interior is somewhat nondescript and even a little cramped, at times, but don’t let this fool you. These folks put together the most flavorful Indian food I’ve ever found.
It’s been almost a year since I ate there. When I used to live farther down south, however, I ate at this place every week or two, and I find it hard to believe that anything short of a full blown tragedy would make this place any less than great. I never had a bad dish from Curry Corner, and everyone working there has always been very professional.
(Be warned, foodies: If you ask for it “spicy” from Curry Corner, you’re getting a three-alarm fire in your mouth.)
Little India Express in Tacoma’s Freighthouse Square has an Interesting Location to go With Its High Quality Food
Freighthouse Square near the Tacoma Dome is a neat little place that feels every bit of its 105 years. Walking through its halls and visiting its shops feels like stepping back in time. Sometimes I’ll sit down there and just imagine what it looked like a century ago, full of workers and tourists shuffling along with the mad bustle of Old Tacoma in all its industrial glory hammering, pounding, and steam-whistling away outside.
The Square also has a few secret gems of cuisine, and one of those is the Little India Express. It’s a little kiosk restaurant in the food court area, but it serves a heavyweight menu. You can sit and watch the cook work if you’d like, as the whole kitchen is open to view. I have done this on a few occasions and find no mystery as to why their food tastes so good. That guy is an artist. I actually plan on asking if he’d be willing to a do a brief interview with me, because he’s an interesting guy who talks with an artist’s passion about his food.
Little India sometimes can take a little longer than one might hope, but that’s because they make every dish from scratch and because they do everything right.
The lead cook once told me how all his traditional Indian dishes have little twists of his own that he throws in. “Nobody cooks Indian like me,” he said with unabashed pride. In my experience, that statement has always held true.
Little Indian Express is a great reason to check out the Freighthouse Square. They’ve never steered me wrong.
