Austin Bites: Swad
Location: 9515 N Lamar [map]
Phone: 512-997-SWAD
Cost: $$ ($=Under $10; $$=$11-30, $$$=$31-60, $$$$=$60+, avg cost per person including 1 drink, tax, and tip.)
Hours: MWThF, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Sat/Sun, 11:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
The 411: Do not, repeat, do not go to Swad expecting saag paneer or chicken tikka masala, lest you turn into one of those people who posts irrationally angry reviews on Yelp. Swad serves southern Indian/Pakistani food, which is totally different, lighter (to a point), and completely vegetarian. Best that you wipe all previous northern Indian dining experiences off your hard drive before venturing Swad's way.
At Swad, you order at the counter and take a number to your table. Water and silverware are provided on a get-your-own basis. Anticipation builds as you watch the kitchen staff bring food to the tables around you. The breads at Swad are spectacular: the poofy, fried bhatura, which looks like a comfortable pillow; the long, coiled dosa, which overreaches the boundaries of its paper plate. Dishes are presented with mysterious little containers of sauce, presenting a delicious sight for those of us who like to mix foods promiscuously.
It can be hard to determine how many of Swad's menu items will add up to a full meal. For a couple, we always order three appetizers and two dosas (dose?), and tend to have food left over. Our standard order consists of khasta kachori, our all-time favorite Swad's item. This messy delight is made up of a puffy, fried external pastry pocket, which you fill at your leisure with the chickpea and onion mixture called moong dal and the aforementioned sauces. Make sure you get plenty of the tamarind chutney, which sweetens the hotness of the moong dal and spicy pastry.
Samosa chat is an appetizer which could almost function as a main dish. Samosas are submerged in a chickpea mixture, and you get coriander chutney to spread on top. The result is a delightfully mushy, spicy mass. The dosas, which are lentil crepes with spicy potato fillings, are way better when purchased in-house (note to those with designs on Swad takeout). The uttapam dosa, which takes an extra fifteen minutes to cook, is a flat pancake of dosa batter, onions, and chilis. Spread some of that sweet tamarind chutney on top, arm yourself with a mango lassi, and get fired up.
Don't take a date to Swad, unless you're pretty sure your prospective has a sense of humor. The restaurant is located in a shopping plaza on North Lamar, next to a dance club named Desperado's. When we are told we must wait for our takeout order, we walk around the plaza and make an interesting cultural survey of trends in military recruitment posters. The grocery store next to the restaurant has a wide array of Indian specialty ingredients, most of which we can't identify, but which make for intriguing browsing.
