Namaste Cafe

Receiving the award for Best Chai in the Twin Cities seems like a good way to get people in to try your restaurant. Namaste Café in Uptown uses local, natural and organic ingredients, free range meat for the few meat dishes they have on their menu and a cozy atmosphere in a old house. Sounds like a good place to have a Saturday night dinner before going to see a show at The Brave New Workshop.

I had a Finnegans beer and a big mug of Chai with Coconut Crème. I actually contemplated licking out all the crème but figured that wouldn’t make a good impression  

We started with the Fiery Shrimp, which is shrimp marinated in coconut milk, garlic, lime zest, green chilies and pepper. They are sautéed in the marinade and topped with a bit of pepper. Wow. These were amazing and I need to figure out how to replicate them.

The 4 dishes that were selected were:

Coconut Curry with Shrimp. A rich curry of coconut milk, shrimp, tomatoes, ginger, tamarind and coriander with green peas. Inspired by the tangy coconut curries of South India, Sri Lanka and other parts of the Indian subcontinent lying close to the ocean.

Almond Curry. Tofu cooked in a curry with ground almond, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and roasted spices. A rich and smooth curry created by our chef with roasted spices to bring out  their full aroma.

Hot and Tangy Lamb with Potatoes. A spicy curry of lamb and potatoes cooked with green chilies, onions, garlic, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon and malt vinegar.

Spicy Mixed Vegetables A curry of mixed vegetables including cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, peas, mushrooms and a special blend of spices. Spicy curry with roasted cumin, cayenne, ginger and garlic.

Our service was good and I really liked the food. I am having my leftovers for lunch today The one negative was having to choose the Almond Curry over the Bison Squash curry that I originally wanted. I survived but will need to go back to try the Bison Curry. This would be a great summer place to sit outside at and grab dinner and people watch in Uptown.