Clay Pit

First of all, I find the dinner menu at the Clay Pit overly priced. I remember my jaw dropping when my friend ordered a $11 vegetable entree, and it had one tiny bowl of veggies and a tiny plate of rice. WTF. That's a rip off. Who the hell would knowingly pay that much for a small bowl of veggie mush. I urge everyone to go for the lunch buffet that has plenty of stuff that you would want to get during dinner, but for only $8! Ta-dah!

Now, about the food. It's quite delicious...not $20-$30 per entree delicious...but when you can afford it, it's pretty delicious. When L.B. came back to Austin for a visit, this was on her list of restaurants to revisit. It's been a while since I ate there too, so I was happy to dine there.

Clay Pit offers complimentary a chips-like naan with 3 dipping sauces. I prefer fluffy/chewy naan and am glad that we ordered the Peshwari Naan-naan stuffed with nuts, raisins, and cherries. This made me want to try all the non-free naans, but I knew shouldn't bust all the money on bread when we still had to order the entrees.

Thin, crunchy naan with 3 dipping sauces and Peshwari Naan

We got the vegetable samosas next. The flaky pastry is so much better than the chewy samosas from the Indian Mela food vendor. The warm, creamy, potato filling makes this a definite comfort food.

Vegetable Samosas

I didn't know what a lassi is at the time, and thought that a mango lassi would be a good drink to wash all the yummy food down. Wrong. The thick, yogurt based drink is more like a dessert than a refreshment for me.

Mango Lassi

I highly recommend the rack of lamb...though be prepared that $19.50 will give you 4 or 5 ribs. The lamb is spiced and marinated in yogurt-masala and comes with onions and mango chutney. The lamb melts in your mouth. The chicken tikka masala is prepared with tomato-based butter cream sauce, which goes really well with basmati rice.

Rack of Lamb and Chicken Tikka Masala

The Vegetable Ayam is prepared with fresh garlic and herbs in yellow goan curry. Good, but I would avoid ordering this if I want more bang for the buck.

Basmati Rice

I'm still waiting for a good time to go back for the lunch buffet. mmm.