Description: Shalimar of India is a keen spot for tasty, spicy Indian food and a few bottles of $2.95 Magic Hat #9, the local’s brew of choice in Burlington. Located near a few college bars and just down the street from Pearl Market—which, according to our server at Sweetwaters, is the place "everyone on campus goes for beer"—this modest little joint was the perfect antidote to the pizza, pub grub, and Mexican food we’d been living on during our tour of Vermont.
There’s nothing especially significant about the restaurant’s décor: bright yellow walls, red tablecloths, run-of-the-mill place mats, a few ceiling fans, and an odd chandelier that could have been had for $4 at a college-kid garage sale. Indian music pounds from a few strategically placed speakers, and an attentive old guy dressed in traditional Indian clothing goes from table to table with a jug of cold water to help his patrons deal with the spice attack.
We were fortunate to grab the little two-top in the corner, near the front window, which afforded great views of the crunchy hippie college kids milling about outdoors. The cheese pakora cooked in chickpea batter ($2.95) would be our appetizer du jour for the evening, along with an order of naan bread stuffed with potatoes and spices ($2.50). Both were fantastic, especially when dipped in the complimentary mint, plum, and onion chutneys, though we were expecting the naan to be stuffed a little more than it was. Oh well, I suppose I should thank them for saving me 100 calories.
The palak chole ($7.95), a creamy mixture of spinach and chick peas, struck my fancy for the main course, while Trixie went with some kind of beefy curry she said was amazing. Dinner was perfect, from the service on down to the cuisine. Afterwards it was on to Pearl Market to grab some microbrews… but honestly, we really went just to be seen at the campus hot spot.
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