MoFo: Gateway to India aka Bring Your Fat Pants

I ate this. And more.

I love Indian food and the best bet in Tacoma for vegans is the lovely Gateway to India on 6th Ave. There are definitely other Indian places in town, some of which I heavily frequented before I was vegan, but Gateway labels vegan items and options right on the menu. If I have a choice between asking a million questions and just ordering, I'm gonna stick with ordering. Sorry other Indian places that probably have vegan potential but I'm too lazy to find out. So I have been to Gateway countless time and always knew in the back of my head there was a lunch buffet, but, cynic that I am, I guess I just assumed there would only be like one vegan thing on the buffet if I was lucky and what's the point of a buffet if you don't get lots of options. Luckily I recently discovered I was oh so very wrong. While dining one evening, I guess I overcame my laziness just long enough to ask about the buffet and its veganness. I was told there are always at least 3 or 4 vegan dishes and just that very afternoon the whole buffet had been vegan! This got my attention.

The delicious chutney.

The first time I went to the buffet I think there were 4 vegan items, not too shabby. But when I returned with Becca a few days ago, there were 8 vegan options! We had vegetable biryani (veggie rice), eggplanta bharta, basmati rice, pappadum (crispy cracker wafer things), green salad (skip the dressing), kabuli channa (garbanzo bean curry), daal maharani (lentils), and curried zucchini and potatoes. THE NAAN IS NOT VEGAN. We also ordered a side of the vegan cilantro chutney off the dinner menu. There is usually cream added to the chutney, but 90% of the time they have some that has not yet been adulterated by dairy. The buffet is only $8.99 and the vegetarian items on the menu are $10.50 and up, so it really is a super deal. Also if you have more self control than I and don't eat until your body starts to shut itself down into a food coma, Caffe Dei is right next door for a sweet treat to end your lunch!

I would totally recommend going here for dinner as well, but the price of the buffet just can't be beat and it's a great way to get some of everything.

NOTE: I usually hate buffets. This isn't a vegan thing, I have always hated them. That said, if there is a buffet with excellent vegan options and the restaurant and fellow customers look classy and clean, I will gladly partake. I'm far from a germaphobe, i regularly eat off my floor if something jumps off the counter, buffets are just one of those things for me.

Gateway to India
(253) 552-5022
2603 6th Ave
Tacoma, WA98406

Hours:
Lunch
Monday thru Friday: 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Saturday: 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Sunday: 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Closed Monday

Dinner
Tuesday thru Thursday: 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Friday: 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Saturday: 4:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Sunday: 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Closed Monday