I've long bemoaned the fact that State Street boasts next to no cheap, all-you-can eat lunch buffets. All right, I haven't ever actually bemoaned it, but I probably should have. Especially since, as far as I can remember, Pizza Hut (662 State St.) was the only one for years. And given the entirely overt lack of care with which said Pizza Hut Buffet was thrown together, eating at it was less a dining experience and more an open challenge to the gods of botulism (\Yes I will have an extra helping of the mysterious, tepid, cheesy pasta dish. Just see if I won't!""). You hoped to survive, and enjoyment barely blipped on the radar screen.
Recently, though, I discovered a second lunchtime spread, clear at the other end of State Street, at the easy-to-miss Madison Masala (227 State St.). Specializing in Indian cuisine, it offers a daily vegetarian all-you-can eat lunch buffet for just $5.50. If flesh is what you're famished for, you can add a side of lamb or chicken curry for just $2.00. And while those prices might be a bit higher than the aforementioned Hut, at least you don't have to muddle through mushy pasta covered in coagulated pizza sauce. Or stomach pumping.
Now, at any steam-plate dominated dining experience, one must temper one's internal critic a little, understanding that you will probably have to sacrifice a little quality in exchange for all the piping hot--OK, often piping warm--grub you can shovel into your greedy mouth.?? Happily, this is not as necessary at Madison Masala. Each dish, though generally simple, is done to a decent level of culinary competence.?? Several things stand out including the continually resupplied warm roti bread, a griddle-cooked flat bread that the uninitiated might compare to a thin, pocketless pita. Also, Karohli, a simple concoction of small, soft dumplings reminiscent of matzo simmered in a mildly spicy curried yogurt sauce, is a comfort food stand-out that I usually allow to grace my plate at least twice per visit.
In addition, there are usually two varieties of lentil soup, three simple vegetable stews and basmati rice. Oddly, the buffet also includes an ""appetizer"" with is essentially another stew. Lobia Chat, a warm salad made from pan-fried black-eyed peas, cumin seed and cilantro, was offered the day I was there. It was a promising dish, but ultimately it suffered from an over zealous amount of salt. Also, if you opt for the meat curries, be aware that they are quite spicy, probably beyond most people's comfort level. Despite these small issues, though, the overall buffet is a good bargain--you can get a good variety of decently-made dishes for not much more than you would be at a fast food joint.
Too bad the same amount of praise can't be given to the restaurant itself.
Dark and dim in a ""forgot to pay the bill"" rather than a ""creating atmosphere"" way, the whole place almost screams dingy and tired. The staff, doing their part, picks up this tired thing like pros. You get the feeling, from the unhappy looking woman who refills the buffet pans, that you have wandered into someone's dining room uninvited, but they're just too exhausted to care.
The dingy atmosphere is reinforced by the stained, worn industrial carpet that covers the dining room floor and the sheer, tired looking Indian-esque curtains that are haphazardly hung from the walls and ceiling. The fun doesn't stop there--tables wobble. Well-meaning but ineffective cushions and pillows slide around uncomfortably under you.?? Immense, boorish stereo speakers loom over you in each corner. The baseboards are dirty and neglected. The walls look like someone ripped wall paper off them and then just said ""screw it,"" and left it at that.
And finally, the napkins are--and it pains me to say this--dispensed. A roll of industrial, impossibly thin napkins dangles from a dispenser next to the buffet plates, from which you tear off the number of napkins that you feel you'll need. You feel like the buffet's beginning in a men's room.
Now, believe me, I've been called many things, and a snob not the least of which, but I don't think it's too much to ask in a sit-down restaurant with waitstaff that I actually get a decent napkin. I mean, call me bourgeois, but come on.
So, if you're looking for a decent, reasonably priced lunch, Madison Masala is the place to go. If you're looking to eat said lunch in an even marginally pleasant environment, well, you could try Pizza Hut. At least the lights seem to work.
