Food Reviews: Swagat

Originally, the plan was to drive up to Salt Lake City to eat at the Cedars of Lebannon, a restaurant we've been meaning to go up to and snack at for months now. However, the arrival of a snowstorm stopped those plans flat, and we were forced to wander the city of Provo in search of a good, and preferably new, place to eat. We ended up going to another restaurant we've been meaning to eat at for a long time - Swagat.

Swagat is a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant serving Indian cuisine. It's a modest little place, on 664 N and Freedom Blvd, right next to the Korean restaurant Sam Hawk. We decided to go all the way here, since it's a new place, so we started out with some Vegetable Samosa for starters, and I ordered the Lamb Bhuna while Dantzel got the Mattar Paneer. And of course, we shared a slice of garlic Naan bread.

The Vegetable Samosa is a sweet little number, basically a deep fried pastry puff filled with vegetables, spiced potato and some kind of curry sauce. The menu said it comes with two for $2.50. We happened to get three. It was like winning the lottery! Those, we polished off with gusto, and soon we received our main courses.

The Lamb Bhuna is basically boneless lamb cubes in a savory gravy. In its description in the menu, it has the phrase "Very yummy!!!" Considering it basically the house special because of that, I ordered it with high expectations and was not disappointed. Mixed with the rice they give you along with it, it makes a great dish. Dantzel's Mattar Paneer - deep fried cheese cubes in a bed of peas covered in a savory curry - was also above expectations. The food isn't overly strong in flavor like most Indian dishes I've had; it's a very subtle taste. This gives an authentic, homemade meal type of feel to it. This will, no doubt, frustrate people who want to be punched in the face when they taste food for the first time, but for Dantzel and I, it was delicious. We've grown rather tired of oversalted, overfried foods drowning in an American sauce, butter or fat. And since they ask if you want your foot spicy, and us being the kind who never back down from a chance to eat something spicy, the food was flavorful enough without suffocating us in it.

Quick aside: whenever you're at a Thai or Indian restaurant and you have the option of spice levels, you should always choose the highest. You may want to scrape your tongue because it burns to badly, but the cooks will love you. Our cook came out and talked with us for a little bit, mostly because we genuinely loved the food. There's nothing more disheartening for a cook to have white people water down their recipes day after day. Someone who really likes spice is a rare exception, especially in places like Provo.

The garlic Naan was also very good; it's heavier than most Naan bread I had, which are usually filled with air. We ended up mopping up any leftover gravy and sauce with it, leaving clean plates and platters.

The cook was impressed, and told us that the next time we come back, we must eat with our fingers, as the traditional Indians do. "Put away the silverware!" he told us. Dantzel and I are now incredibly excited to return, hopefully with a few friends in tow. This place is worth trying out, and if anybody wants to get their fingers dirty eating spicy Indian food, give us a call. We'd be glad to come along with you.