• Jyoti Bihanga—Restaurant Yoga?

  Filed under Eatable, Restaurant Reviews
  Jan 16

   

  One of our regular haunts in San Diego is Jyoti Bihanga restaurant in Normal Heights.  We go for the fresh salads, Neat Loaf and consistent vegetarian fare.  The restaurant is run by followers of Sri Chimnoy, the recently departed guru known for a positive outlook,weightlifting and concerts where he performed using up to 80 instruments.  The atmosphere at the restaurant is airy and peaceful with sari and kirta-clad servers serving throngs of yoga practitioners, saddhu wannabees and plant-based foodies.  We have menu favorites and the experience is generally good, in spite of sometimes spacey service.  This evening, we were in the mood for something different and decided to chance the evening special.  I ordered the “beef” stroganoff and a carrot juice.  The carrot juice that was served tasted of fresh garlic cloves.  Juicing garlic is popular in certain cleansing fasts, but the problem is that garlic permeates the entire juicer no matter how many carrots follow it. Overpowered by the stinking rose, I promptly sent it back and set about enjoying the house salad with tahini dressing.  The salads at Jyoti Bihanga are served French style with grated fresh beets and grated carrots side by side on butter lettuce.  They are delightfully fresh, creating anticipation for the main course.  When the stroganoff was served, my heart sank.  Pasty noodles topped with a splotch of grey mushroom gravy and two little pieces of mock”beef”.  The flavor was not any better with a somewhat soapy combination of nutmeg and summer savory.  It is rare that I cannot politely consume food, but this was the exception.  Sara was a champ and switched dishes with me.  She plucked away at the sometimes elusive slippery noodles while I did justice to her Thai peanut and vegetable stirfry, which was pleasantly balanced and quite edible.  As we battled with the stroganoff, we noticed the waiter had disappeared for most of the meal.  Just as we finished our last morsels, he appeared with the carrot juice, mumbling something about having to wash out the entire juicer.  The juice tasted fresh, but was not a good substitute for dessert.  Un-cleared plates were on the table for some time before the check was received and we left thinking Neat Loaf carry-outs will work for future dinners from Jyoti Bihanga. 

  
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