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Masala Fine Dining: Don't bother with the buffet

By Wendy Miller Contributing Restaurant Critic

Masala Fine Dining, a second location of the Masala in Beaumont, is tucked away on an access corridor off Nicholasville Road, on the former site of Kentucky Hot Moon, a quick bite spot known for its labyrinthine interior with funhouse mirrors and a phenomenally purple ladies' room. Its reinvented Indian self is still a maze, especially in the dark, but the décor has intensified: The walls are now black and red, and painted with elaborate designs, creating a more fearless impression than its predecessor did.

The fare, too, is a far cry from pastries and cappuccinos and puts its best foot forward when dishes are made to order.

With that in mind, I would skip the uninteresting buffet, even though it's inexpensive ($7.99). Few foods benefit from long visits with a steam table. The soupy dahl makni of curried lentils is good, as is the palak paneer (creamed spinach with chunks of cheese). Otherwise, I mostly remember sauce — resembling overly rich cream of tomato soup — coating everything from cubes of chicken tikka to potatoes, as well as lukewarm naan, unpleasantly greasy wadas (like doughnuts) and a few nondescript salads and curries.

But, in a pleasing about-face, dinner was entirely another story.

The assorted vegetable appetizers ($5.95) were delicious: two greaseless pappadams with golden onion chutney and minty cilantro dip, two samosas stuffed with turmeric-laced potatoes and peas, and light tangles of pakoras — savory battered strands of spinach and onions.

Goat curry ($13.95) arrived in gravy thick with the warm glow of ginger and onions that had cooked down. The chunks of stringy meat were still on the bone, extracting extra flavor from the marrow, but requiring mindful eating from the diner.

Shrimp dansik ($15.95) with lentils is India's version of a sweet (honey) and sour (vinegar) dish. Ordering it medium-spicy adds a third, and essential, layer of heat. Because the shellfish were sweet and the lentils mild, I thought it needed more vinegar (or a squirt of lemon) to keep it from being cloying.

Those enamored of cream and butter should always order a korma, especially with vegetables ($11.95), a standard mixed medley heightened by the occasional surprise of a yellow raisin here, a cashew there.

Rice comes with the entrees, but this night it seemed old, as if it had been on the buffet earlier that day. The garlic naan ($3.50), on the other hand, was perfect: piping hot, blistered, tender and chewy.

So the best approach to Masala is to order off the menu, which also is more in sync with the fancier ambience and allows the chance to appreciate the friendly service.

An enormous dinner for two, including beer and tax but not tip, came to about $68.