Best Indian '97

Best Indian

India Oven
2727 N. Campbell Ave.

READERS' PICK: India Oven seats several dozen diners, but the waitstaff has a winning way of making each of them feel as if he or she were the sole patron. That courtesy and attention to detail exactly matches India Oven's range of carefully prepared dishes, from vegetarian delights like tandoor-roasted eggplant to carnivore-pleasers beef vindaloo and tikka masala. Open every day, the restaurant boasts a big lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., populated with several meat and vegetable courses, naan bread, basmati rice and samosas. Nirvana awaits.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: New Delhi Palace, 6751 E. Broadway. A perennial favorite of Tucson's Indian-food lovers, the New Delhi Palace never fails to delight and entice. Owned and operated by the Kangara family, the restaurant offers a full range of Indian favorites, from tandoori meats and seafood, rich and aromatic curries, cool cucumber raita, crispy samosas, saffron-flecked basmati rice, and a trio of chutneys that glisten like jewels, to sweet gulab jamun and the coolest, creamiest rice pudding in town. The Indian breads accompanying your meal may include naan, which can be flavored with garlic if you like, and crispy pappadum, a lentil flour wafer that is surprisingly and pleasingly spicy. If it's Indian beer you crave, a Taj Mahal, which comes in its wine-bottle-sized vessel, will be brought to your table along with the frostiest mugs we've seen since A&W had stands around Arizona. Upon entering the slightly dark and very exotic dining room, you just may feel like you've made the passage to India without ever having to show your passport.

1998 Winner: Gandhi Cuisine of India
1996 Winner: India Oven
1995 Winner: India Oven