Winner

The Taj
www.tajcolorado.com
2630 Baseline Road, Boulder
303.494.5216

The Taj

Serving the freshest and healthiest food – that is what motivates Taj owners and husband-and-wife team, Vhim Rai and Kamala Ghimire, to work 16 to 18 hours a day. “We have many long-time customers,” Ghimire says, “some who have been coming since we opened The Taj in February 1996.” Rai does the cooking, along with several chefs he trained. “I, too, do some cooking and put in seasonal vegetables myself,” says Ghimire. Her husband supervises the abundant, popular buffet. “To make the food healthier,” says Rai, “we use less fat and heavy cream, just the bare minimum. Some people come every day for lunch, because the food is light. And we use absolutely no MSG at all.” They are introducing gluten-free and dairy-free Indian food. At their year-old restaurant, Mantra Indian Cuisine (1630B 30th St., Boulder, 303.444.1809, www.mantracolorado.com), you can sample masala dosa, a popular south Indian gluten-free crepe. While featuring a popular buffet at lunch and dinner, Mantra is also a “sit-down and be served” kind of place – at affordable prices. Try “thali,” platters of little samplers of tasty Indian specialties. The favorite dishes of Taj customers are chicken masala, tandoori chicken, and saag paneer (homemade cheese cubes cooked with Indian creamed spinach). “For the Tandoori, we cook our meat fresh, so it is moist and tender,” Ghimire says. She also notes that they use healthy options such as brown rice and steamed rice with no oil, steamed vegetables, and salad with fresh-cut vegetables. Another customer favorite is the homemade chai. “Customers come even from Evergreen for it,” she says. “It’s our secret recipe. We have a lot of experience playing with the spices.” Winners of the Boulder County Gold People’s Choice Award many times, this husband and wife are quick to express their gratitude for the honor: “From the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank the Boulder County community and all our customers. We’re very grateful to be winners of the Boulder County Gold Award again. It’s a community gift. We’re going to work even harder.”

Runner Up

Tandoori Grill
www.tandoorigrillboulder.com
619 South Broadway, Boulder
303.543.7339