[Welcome to Snap Judgment, a new regular Blogtown feature wherein I'll be dropping by places both old and just opened for a one-dish fly-by, and developing an opinion based on that singular experience. Basically, it's the complete opposite of what I do each week for Last Supper. I don't expect to get it right all the time. I do expect you to correct me.- PAC]

For some reason Portland doesn't seem to have the same fervor for Indian cuisine as it does for other traditional ethnic foods. That's a damn shame. I'd happily trade ten of our pun-tastic hole-in-the-wall Thai joints for one more decent place to chow down on tikka masala and tandoori chicken.

You can imagine how happy I was when I learned of Namaste Indian Cuisine, which opened recently at 8303 NE Sandy. A recent afternoon urge for curry compelled me to hop in the car and make the trek up Sandy from the Mercury offices to stuff my fat face.

Snap Judgment After the Jump!

Here's the important parts: Having opened in what was previously a buffet driven restaurant called Steamers, Namaste is rocking a pretty impressive all you can eat buffet (plus mango ice cream) for $8.95 at lunch [11am-2:30pm] and $11.95 at dinner [5pm to close]. There is also a full dinner menu with a la carte options available.

Here's the less import but still important parts: Namaste has done little to change the Steamers ambiance, so there is a modicum of cognitive dissonance while eating straight ahead Indian food in a faintly old-timey American atmosphere—complete with huge blank and white photo murals of Old West steam engines and folksy stained glass. I suppose, if you really did some psychological gymnastics, you could conjure up India under British colonialism and make that work for you somehow.

Some concerns: Namaste is way the hell out there by many Portlander's standards and may not have enough draw as destination dining to pull folks in. I'll admit the buffet was certainly hopping with a very diverse crowd, including many folks from the sub-continental diaspora. They didn't seem to mind the odd ambiance, but then again, I wasn't asking them.

The food situation: In terms of an Indian food buffet, Namaste has a whole lot going on. I was particularly surprised to find a goat curry that was quite damn good. Nothing in the steamer trays really screamed “standard Indian buffet” to me, which was actually very cool. Some dishes I liked better than others, but there wasn't anything I found unpleasant or necessarily lacking. I'm a fan of the chicken, and potato, parkoras. The lamb rice pilaf was very good and the garlic naan was exactly what I was looking for. In all honesty, it was a blur. I have a tendency to view “All You Can Eat” as a challenge, and the whole thing can turn into an ugly blackout binge.

Snap Judgment: Namaste's website pronounces it the “Best Indian Cuisine in Town.” I don't know if I'd go that far, however, even though I would've liked to see a bit more spicy heat from the items on the buffet, I'm intrigued enough to want to come back and lay down some real money on their sit down menu options. I will return.