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If perchance you find yourself needing a break from I-95 into Manhattan, or you are stuck with tennis-playing, Madras-wearing, chicken-salad eating colleagues, friends or family in Fairfield County, CT, I promise you will find relief at Coromandel, an oasis of true good taste. This fine Indian restaurant (highly rated by Zagat) is located in the surreally-named "Good Wives Shopping Center" on Old Kings Highway in Darien, (which, truth be told, is pretty darn surreal to begin with, without calling attention to the fact that a lot of Old Kings and Good Wives live there.) But I digress.

Coromandel's menu is extensive, and features regional Indian dishes from all over India. I ordered waaaay too much food with the thought of delighting my nephew with his favorite leftovers. Spicing was complex, and the meat and shrimp high quality. I struck up a conversation with some other diners, an Indian family from Boston. They said that they really love the vegetarian fare here, and make it a point to stop here whenever they travel to NYC. I had some Dahi Batata Sev Poori, a chaat with potatoes and lentils and yoghurt, and three other dishes, along with rice and naan: a Parsi shrimp dish with tamarind and jaggery, a Tamil Nadu lamb dish and a chicken dish I am not sure of. Here are the pics:


Coromandel Chaat by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Coromandel Parsi Shrimp by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Lamb @ Coromandel by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Coromandel Chicken by Josephine2004, on Flickr

Turns out, they also have restaurants elsewhere in Fairfield County. So there remains no excuse for chicken salad! Takeout, however, is allowed.

Coromandel Cuisine of India
25-11 OLD KINGS HWY N
Good Wives Shopping Cen.
DARIEN, CT 06820
(203) 662 1213
http://coromandelcuisine.com/darien.html
LUNCH:
12-2:30 pm (M-F)
12-3:00 pm (Sa-Su)
DINNER:
5-10:00 pm (Su–Th)
5-10:30 pm (F-Sa)

_________________
Man : I can't understand how a poet like you can eat that stuff.
T. S. Eliot: Ah, but you're not a poet.

There's a really nice cheese shop in that shopping center. Used to be almost next door to Coromandel, but it's been quite a while since I was there.

Further up on route 1 in Orange, there is another outlet of Coromandel. I haven't been there since I moved out of CT, but I fondly remember there use of fresh whole spices that raised it several notches above any Indian food I had before.

Also in Orange, there is a Lao Sichuan, run by a cousin of Tony Hu. These may be fighting words, but I prefer the Connecticut version to the Chicago version.

Good call, rickster. The Darien Cheese Shop has an excellent selection of cheeses, and they take it very seriously. They had quite a number of washed-rind cheeses the last time I was in there, as well as one of my favorites, Couloummiers, which I rarely find anywhere. Bread, some salumi and other things for a picnic are also available.


Well put. The spicing is quite good there.


I agree that CT version is very good, and quite a bit smaller and more sedate than LSC Chicago. I can't judge the food too well, because I have only been there once.

_________________
Man : I can't understand how a poet like you can eat that stuff.
T. S. Eliot: Ah, but you're not a poet.