Annapurna
1085 Bathurst Street
416-537-8513
Dinner for two, including all taxes, tip, and tea: $35

How to describe Annapurna? “You just have to see it” is a cop-out, but the closest combination I can think of is an afternoon tea crossed with a meditation centre. Baby blue walls and motion-activated chirping birds stood alongside tabletop fountains of Hindu figures on laminated tablecloths, again in baby blue. If nothing else, it spurred an amused half-grin from this newcomer.

Once I had settled in, the underlying point of the theme made himself known through his quotations on the table, the menu, even the sugar packets. Sri Chinmoy is a spiritual teacher, once-guru to the U.N., now living in New York. The entire restaurant is inspired by and dedicated to him, and it showed. I could have purchased or read in-house copies of his books while I waited, with titles like “God Is…” and “Steps To World Peace.” He has a thing for light blue and encourages his followers to become vegetarian. Hence, Annapurna and its aquamarine awning were born.

The menu, like the décor, was a mix of Western and Eastern tastes. Two of the more “Western” dishes were the Macro Plate and the Veggie Burger. The Macro plate ($6.95) consisted of tofu and brown rice topped with nori and sesame seeds. It wound up tasting like a maki roll made into a salad. The tofu was too salty to be very palatable, particularly with the addition of nori. The Veggie Burger ($6.95) was so sweet and tangy as not to resemble a burger. It was wanting for garnishes or additions to the single slice of tomato and lettuce; I resorted to adding my side salad into the wrap. Luckily, the tahini on the salad was gentle but just overpowering enough to save the burger from the slab of “sauce with a little tofu.”

The Chef’s Salad ($4.95)was a welcome contrast, with the herbal olive oil dressing granting a great deal of flavour to the greens. Crispy green peppers and a good amount of sprouts also helped to make this choice the best of the “Western” selections.

The South Indian section fared much better. The bonda ($1 for 2)was delicious, and so flavourful I kept expecting to see strings of fresh ginger protruding from each bite I took. The Masala Dosai ($6.95) had pungent mustard seeds and onions mixed with warm, soft potatoes. The spiciness manifested as an aftertaste. Sagu with puri ($7.95) for dipping had the same after-effects, firstly tasting of spinach, curry only after. The puri was fluffy and had a “whole wheat” flavour that made it nearly stand on its own without the sagu.

Last and hardly least was dessert. The soy chai tea ($3.95) was muted but sweet, and the raspberry fruit ice ($3.95) was as soft, smooth, and sticky as any of its dairy counterparts. The two choices actually complemented each other quite well, spice and ice resulting in the contented sliding into one’s seat normally reserved for a sugar coma.

In the same way that Sri Chinmoy has been only partially successful in North America, Annapurna has been only partially successful in its take on North American cuisine.
Annapurna is, however, a good Indian vegetarian restaurant, and that should be enough.