Chautara

Chautara is one of SEVERAL Nepalese restaurants in Madison. Think it's surprising that there are an abundance of Nepali cuisine in deep-fried apple pie Wisconsin? We think so too. Yet, this is the curious situation in which we now find ourselves, and there's nothing for it but to soldier on, sample the food, and blog about it.

Here are our findings: First, Chautara is located on State St. and has outdoor seating. We note this as a plus. Second, unlike certain other Nepalese restaurants on the 300 block of State St. that I could name *cough* Himal Chuli *cough*, this restaurant serves meat. And not just meat, but my favorite meat, Lamb. We note this as another plus. Third, the menu looked pretty good, a nice mix of meat dishes balanced with grains (mostly rice) or vegetables (including the nice use of chickpeas). But the specials sounded great, and I opted for the market Lamb with Daal (thinner than other's I've had, more soupy, but tasty) and some seasonal veggies like patty-pan squash. I'll give this another plus.

So I guess Chautara gets three pluses. Out of how many? Oh, I don't know. Let's say four. Three out of four is pretty good, in my book, which is the one you are reading. All in all, it was a good, straightforward meal of traditionally cooked meat and roasted veggies with a nice soup, located on State St. I know it's a Nepalese restaurant, but that epitomizes good Midwest food for me.