When touring college campuses, it’s customary to sample the local cuisine! On our recent visit to Virginia Tech, my daughter and I stopped in to India Garden for lunch. Highly recommended by our hosts, we were looking forward to eating here, as my daughter and I love Indian food!
I was pleased to see that they have an extensive vegetarian and vegan menu. Everything was clearly labeled if it was vegan, which is so helpful! If you are dining with omnivores, there’s plenty to please them on the menu as well.
My daughter and I ordered vegetable samosas as an appetizer. These were huge and had clearly been freshly prepared. The first bite made me pause, it was so good. Served with a tamarind sauce and filled with peas and potatoes, they were perfectly spiced and delicious. I would 100% order this again.
For the meal, I ordered the allu bangan, an eggplant and potato dish. However, what arrived was allu gobhi, which is the same dish, but with cauliflower. It was still good, but I think I would have preferred the eggplant. It had a tomato based sauce and was delicately spiced. I enjoyed this, but would order something different next time. Meals are served family style, so they also gave us a huge plate of basmati rice, and we couldn’t order a meal without garlic naan! The naan was easily the best I’ve ever had. My only regret is that we couldn’t really take leftovers with us, as we still had the campus tour ahead on our schedule.
The staff here were so friendly, and the atmosphere was fancier than I expected. We went right after they opened, and we had the place to ourselves. They have a full bar with two televisions and ample space for large parties as well.
If you’re looking for something different for a meal in Blacksburg, I highly recommend India Garden. Bring your appetites, because the portions are huge! With the amount of food we were served, we could have easily fed 3 people.
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One of my favorite ways to explore a new city is by sampling local restaurants! Is this something you enjoy, too? The only exception is when I’m out of town for a race. I stick with what I know before the race, then explore after!
As always, I hope you all are safe and healthy.
Anne the Vegan 