I knew all was not well with Amaya on Bayview. My previously most beloved Indian resto had slipped. First there was the adulteration of the cooking, the little slips like overcooking the lamb chops and too much cream with the prawns. Then they started selling Groupons and the service went to hell. You could just tell the heart had gone out of the place. It didn’t help that owner Hemant Bhagwani had expanded at a ferocious rate — up to eight Amayas at one point. Talk about diluting the brand.
But oh joy, Mr. Bhagwani came to his senses. He closed some of his Amaya branches and gave the others to someone else to run, deciding to focus 100 per cent on the Bayview Amaya, which he knew had lost its vision. This man is very smart. He closed Amaya, did a breezy reno to make the room more casual and fun, and reopened it as Indian Street Food Co.
Which is now a dream come true. Lovers of Indian food will be over the moon here. They start you with a splendid little lassi scented with saffron, pistachio and almond. The app that puts a big smile on my taste buds is chaat: Crispy puffed rice with pomegranate, potato, tamarind chutney, chickpeas and yogurt — sweet, hot, fabulous.
Most of Mr. Bhagwani’s new items are inspired by the street food of his homeland. I personally was too chicken to eat street food in India, but I ate in people’s homes and did notice that the interest level of the spicing of the food seemed to increase in inverse proportion to the pretension of the surroundings. So bring on the street food!
Street-inspired spicy chicken tikka is the most exciting tasting tikka I’ve ever tasted, and serving it on buttery flaky paratha with mint chutney is inspired. Tamil kothu roti (from Sri Lanka) is equally jazzy — chopped paratha with raw cabbage, chilies, exotic sprouts, onions, coriander and lemon. Supercharged savour! Charcoal grilled prawns come in a sweet little tiffin box with crunchy noodles and mango slaw.
Arvi tuk is a splendour of jumped up flavours: A base of crunchy fried taro topped with tamarind chutney, kachumber (Indian chopped salad), chili spiced yogurt and thin slices of watermelon radish.
Superyummy!
Best of all: Mr. Bhagwani has done away with tipping. He adds a 12 per cent admin fee to every bill and splits that among his staff — from dishwasher to maitre d’ — equally! Which creates a pretty delicious atmosphere when the Visa machine hits your table and there’s no tip button to push.
Indian Street Food Co., 1701 Bayview Ave., $60 dinner for two
Joanne Kates trained at the Ecole Cordon Bleu de Cuisine in Paris. She has written articles for numerous publications, including the New York Times, Maclean’s and Chatelaine.