UYE @ Cafe Maharani

Whoa…
I am sooo glad I made it to my first UYE of 2013 :)
ALSO, glad that it was just around the corner and down the street from my crib… Since I walked there, it made for an almost guilt free foodie experience (that does count as exercise, right?). I didnt feel so bad stuffin’ my face with Garlic Cheese Stuffed Naan, Chicken Vindaloo and Fish Marsala. Geez, I distinctly recall waking up full the next morning :-/​
Hmmmm… I kinda feel guilty but oh well… I’m totally over it now.
So glad that I finally got to meet up with some of my favorite Unilocalers. Funny, because I have been following MANY of their reviews for months so this was AWESOME-​Sauce to finally say «howdy do».
There, I admit it. I lurk on Unilocal.I can’t help it! The insight and tips are so hard to pass up… Don’t judge.
Thanks for such a great time, Russ M. Can’t wait for the next one…
Tick Tick Tick

Gold wooden tables and chairs, woven tapestries, cheesy Bollywood music videos, colorful lights, and decadent food can only mean one thing: you’ve just experienced Café Maharani. Oh and there’s one more thing that needs to be added to the mix… a crap ton of people! And not just UYE Unilocalers, but everyone and their grandmother too! It’s like when you decide to eat your lunch outside for the day and all the birds within a one mile radius decide you should be sharing it with them; as soon as Café Maharani throws out that one piece of bread, the entire flock swoops down and starts ordering stuffed garlic cheese naan (which is amazing by-​the-​way).
So if you ever want to try Café Maharani I recommend calling before they open to get on the waiting list or ordering take-​out. Otherwise, you’ll probably be waiting awhile for the few tables they have inside to free up. Thankfully Russ had it covered by getting on the waiting list and making sure to give us a stern warning that our seats would be given away if we were late!
Thank you Russ for a great UYE experience! The food was delicious, the restaurant was a feast for the eyes, and the Unilocalers were sociable and delightful as always!

Although my BF & I have eaten food from Café Maharani before, we’ve never actually eaten in the restaurant. I have never been able to fathom waiting an hour to eat Indian food, but I knew I couldn’t miss out on Russ M’s UYE! Whenever you eat with Russ, you are undoubtedly guaranteed to have three things happen:
1) You will eat so much that you’ll barely be able to walk afterwards.
2) You will eat so many amazing things that your life will forever be changed for the better.
3) (Optional) If you happen to drink one of his mai tais, you will inevitably forget who you are, where you live and may also end up bare ass naked lying on the street.
*Note: #3 has never personally happened to me but my boyfriend has gotten pretty damn close.
And as guaranteed, tonight #1 & #2 happened! Russ ordered for our table and we ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate until all we could do is lie with our heads on the table drooling from over consumption. It was all amazing and I’m so very happy I came to this UYE! The food at Café Maharani is definitely best when you go family style and you’ll need at least 6 at your table to try enough items. I highly recommend the cheese stuffed naan bread which I kept stuffing into my already full stomach.
On top of all the amazing food, Russ somehow managed to make a reservation so we didn’t have to wait at all AND we had a wonderful group of 16 Unilocalers show up for fantastic night of eats! Looking forward to the next UYE and can’t wait to do #1 & #2 all over again! I’ll leave #3 up to someone else!