We prefer the spicing on the Taj Pathani as well.
Only question I have on this topic is
charcoal or no charcoal?
I know I’m geographically off a bit – but you could add in Tera’s Himalayan which is a block or so from Taj. I used to go there quite a bit, but not so much anymore, though I’m not sure why. Their food has a lot of overlap with Indian/Pakistani. They also serve yak – which I don’t see anywhere else.
The other spot you could add in is a spot I am more enthusiastic about: Jasmine.
The family who runs Jasmine are from Myanmar. They serve Burmese food. Again, not exactly the same as Indian/Pakistani but many of the dishes are similar. We go there more often. It’s not at all fancy, even if you eat in they serve on paper plates. But they do good business, it can get pretty crowded and they do a lot of take-out. Jasmine is on Sepulveda between Washington and Culver – so it’s more or less in the same neighborhood. They also have a small grocery store. Super nice people, low prices. (The lunch specials are really reasonable.)
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Thanks @PaulF for reminding me. My wife used to get takeout from Jasmine kinda semi-regularly. As you with Tara’s, we just let it go after a while - no reason.
I’ve never had Tara’s - my wife has (she goes out for lunch way more than I do) and enjoyed it. We’ll have to put these places back in the list. Thanks again.
I honestly don’t know. But the food has been enjoyable, so I’m good either way. I will pay more attention on my next visit and will ask.
One point I forgot to mention: if you like the spicy food at Taj Tandoori, be sure to let the owners know. The place gets great reviews on Yelp, but they’re starting to get a handful of complaints by people who can’t handle the heat.
@Nemroz I’m gonna guess no charcoal. Have you found a place here in LA that uses charcoal in the tandoor?
@PaulF LOVE Jasmine Market. I’ve been going to Zafran Pot lately because I slightly prefer their chicken biryani and they serve paneer butter masala. But the weekend lamb biryani at Jasmine Market is superior imo.
A bit off-topic, but @maccrogenoff and @PaulF, what do you like at Tara’s Himalayan? I went there for the first time a few mos ago. Can’t recall what I ordered (I was meeting a friend, was running late, etc.), but I remember thinking for the food was only okay. I think I might’ve ordered one of the goat dishes?
I really can’t recall which dishes we loved or anything, we don’t go there that often.
I do think we order that yak chili because it’s freakin’ “yak chili.” I just like saying it. (They get their yak from Colorado, btw, not from Nepal.)
The food there is only “ok” but sometimes “ok” is okay if that’s what you’re in the mood for. The vibe is nice there, I’ve more or less enjoyed my meals there. They have beer. I dunno – I can’t recommend it as a place that blows me away. It’s just a spot we go to maybe a couple of times a year, if that.
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Thank you for the recommendation. I’ve never been to Zafran Pot.
Mayura uses charcoal and you know right away if a place uses charcoal… the smoke makes tons of difference for tandoori… honestly that’s my only criteria with this cooking method… i may be militant about it but i dont care.
I guess I don’t - ignorance is… 
I haven’t been to Mayura in ages. Your taste buds are true. I know the owner is pretty persnickety about his dishes. His grand daughter and my daughter used to go to school together. I would see him only periodically when he would pick up his little jewel from school. Reason being is he was always making trips to India, to pick up specific ingredients he felt were necessary to make the food up to his standards. He said he usually went at least once a month. Long haul for such things - shows his dedication I guess.
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Oh, wow, good to know! Don’t think it ever occurred to me to try the tandoori chicken there. I’ve stuck with the vegetarian and/or South Indian dishes the times I’ve been. Might have to do a bang-bang the next time I’m at Zafran Pot.
The owners of Jasmine are Indian, but lived in Myanmar. That’s why they have both Indian and Burmese dishes on their menu. We go there every so often, and the owner and my dad talk in Burmese and reminisce about the Burma from the old days.
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You’ve never been to their lunch buffet? It’s really quite amazing. Always smokey tandoori chicken in there. Mostly veg. Do get the free dosa on offer
Maybe I’m missing something at Zafran Pot, but their lunch steam table stuff was pretty disappointing the last time we went. 
I didn’t understand what the excitement was about.
We felt Bawarchi (at its high point) was much better.
I really love Mayura’s Kerala special fish curry with appam.
I have not. Not a big buffet guy. If I hit one at lunch, I’m pretty much done for the rest of the day. Might just have to check it out on your rec, though.
By “high point,” do you mean when Chef Sabharwal was still there cooking vegetarian food? If so, I probably agree. However, I felt like Bawarchi took a nosedive after they started serving meat.
Hi @Bigmouth,
Thanks for the tip on the chicken biryani. Will have to try it next time.
“Yes,” when Bawarchi was vegetarian only. We felt their dishes (and steam table offerings also) were much better. Definitely agree about the meat-transition period, we noticed that too!
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definitely fell apart after the transition to meat.
now, it is under completely different management.
went in there once since the change in management and the food looked unappealingly greasy/oily to me so just backed out
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I don’t eat meat or poultry, but my husband has been happy with the goat dishes at Tara’s Himalayan. I like vegetarian momo, okra, mustard greens, jackfruit curry, bamboo shoot curry and salt lassi. I haven’t had anything there that I didn’t like. I suspect that if you found the food only okay their cooking probably just isn’t your thing.
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