Bayleaf isn鈥檛 the first Indian restaurant in St. 亚洲无码 where I鈥檝e eaten a gongura curry. This, by itself, is a reason to celebrate. The metro area鈥檚 dining scene has evolved far beyond the point where Indian restaurants were synonymous with chicken tikka masala, garlic naan and lunch buffets.
If you haven鈥檛 tried gongura, Bayleaf鈥檚 gongura roast chicken is an excellent introduction. Gongura is red sorrel, which charges the dish with an intense tanginess 鈥 or even sourness. I struggle to capture the exact flavor. Imagine a sharper citrus fruit crossed with a grassier herb. After this initial gongura hit, the dish yields to tender chicken, heady aromatics and a steadily building heat. That heat can be fierce, depending on how spicy you order it, but the chiles can鈥檛 diminish the sorrel鈥檚 pungent bite.
In recent years, Chesterfield has been the epicenter of new Indian restaurants in St. 亚洲无码, a boom notable for both its quality and variety, from the fusion wraps of Tikka Tangy to the counter-service curries and dosas of the Curry Club to the unfussy elegance of Black Salt. Bayleaf, which opened in May on Olive Boulevard just west of Highway 141, joins their number.
People are also reading…
Bayleaf is also a reminder not to take this remarkable growth for granted. It occupies the shopping-plaza storefront that was previously the home of another Indian restaurant, Khanna鈥檚 Desi Vibes. Khanna鈥檚, which closed in April after three and a half years, was another standout of Chesterfield鈥檚 boom. In addition to its excellent, mainly northern Indian fare, Khanna鈥檚 distinguished itself with fun fusion dishes inspired by its owner鈥檚 travels and such small touches as the menu recommending a specific bread to pair with each main dish.
Bayleaf has retained Khanna鈥檚 basic layout in its single dining room, though the former restaurant鈥檚 distinctive, colorful d茅cor is gone. Bayleaf also follows the trend within this Indian-restaurant boom to skip the lunch buffet, though the menu does feature a few lunch combos (chicken, lamb, goat or vegetarian) and either a vegetarian or non-vegetarian thali, featuring small portions of multiple dishes on one platter.
Buffet diehards should know the thali is a better survey of the restaurant鈥檚 dishes, making up in the freshness of its dishes what it lacks in variety. Or maybe I should put lacks in quotation marks. The vegetarian thali at Bayleaf ranges from vegetable fritters in spicy, fleetingly sweet Manchurian sauce to two distinct dal dishes to two curries (one chickpea, one vegetable), served with rice, naan and a single pappadam.
Bayleaf鈥檚 full menu is lengthy, with a variety of soups, chaat and appetizers before you reach the main courses. As is typical at Indian restaurants, these appetizers range from samosas to several different grilled meats, like the meaty Kastoori lamb chops, which tease you with fenugreek鈥檚 maple-like sweetness before a blast of chile heat and the meat鈥檚 own distinct grassiness.
The menu鈥檚 range is a delight for large groups and regular customers. As a critic who must eventually file this column and move on to next week鈥檚 assignment, no matter how many times I visited Bayleaf, I can鈥檛 help but wonder if I missed something vital. Seeking gongura curries and other south Indian delights, I easily might have skipped one of my favorite dishes here: chole bhatura, chickpeas in a mild, oniony tomato sauce served with two puffy, delightfully chewy pieces of fried bread.
This is an inevitable frustration, not a complaint, and I didn鈥檛 find a dud among the dishes I did choose, even when I opted for something as familiar as lamb vindaloo. The sauce nimbly balanced the puckering astringency of vinegar with its potent heat (and this was at medium on the restaurant鈥檚 scale). Impressively, the kitchen had turned the dish鈥檚 potatoes into perfect little footballs.
For visual flair, the Hindustani Scotch Eggs must be Bayleaf鈥檚 signature dish. This Desi spin on the classic Scotch egg packs minced lamb around a hard-boiled egg, which is then breaded and fried to a scalding crisp. This breading retains its gnarled crunchiness as the eggs bob in autumnal orange-red saffron cream sauce. In addition to the eggs, the dish includes a portion of braised lamb, which is a crucial savory counterpoint to the eye-popping sweetness of the cream sauce.
Yet I鈥檓 as likely to return to Bayleaf for its Home Style Curry Chicken as those Scotch eggs. The name and simple presentation of chicken in sauce belies the depth of flavor here, with sparkling ginger and jolting green chile. I ordered this on my first visit here and, with foolhardy eagerness, asked for 鈥渉ot鈥 on the restaurant鈥檚 scale. No matter how broad our selection of Indian restaurants, I still haven鈥檛 learned my own limits.