Because Indian food is always associated with the birth of Jesus

For the last 5 or so years a group of us has managed to fit in a feast of Indian food between singing services on Christmas Eve.  For the first few years, however many those were, we went to Bukhara.  The food there is reliably good and the service is always excellent.  It’s a short drive to the place where we sing midnight mass, and they have a parking lot.  Restaurants with parking lots are key in Boston.

Then things changed in 2013.

There are two sort of Indian Cartels that own a bunch of the Indian food restaurants in Boston/Cambridge.  One of them is One World Cuisine which is the parent company of Bukhara.  One World Cuisine has run into some problems not terribly unlike the problems that Upper Crust Pizza ran into over the last few years. 

You know, problems like violating US labor law.

The difference is that this time there’s no white management vs. disadvantaged people of color in the kitchen.  The rich management in this case ARE people of color, so the headlines aren’t making the Globe.  At least, not until more recently.  Also, there’s no wildly idiotic CEO spending money made at the expense of workers on things like yachts while blathering to the press about how he’s the victim.

Anyway, all of this meant that we couldn’t, in good faith, eat at any One World Cuisine restaurant any more, especially on Christmas Eve.  This left us needing to find a place where we could eat that was proximate to our midnight service and that had parking.

Enter Bukhara’s neighbor, Ghazal Indian Cuisine.  They were open late enough, a call confirmed that they were serving on Christmas Eve, and they were on the same lot as Bukhara.  Their website may be terrible, but that was where the terrible ended.

And, oh, the food.  Folks, if you’re in the greater Boston area and you’re hankering for some Indian food, do not pass GO, do not collect $200, go directly to Ghazal.  The staff was wonderful and the food, a mixture of Northern and Southern Indian cuisine, was stupendous.  Their selection of vegetarian and vegan options was top-notch, and I had a vegetarian dish I’ve never even heard of before that was just out of this world.

Patricio said it best, “I think we’ve found our new place.”  So, goodbye One World Cuisine.  We’ll be at Ghazal enjoying their outrageously good food.  And we will absolutely be back before next Christmas Eve.

~Kelly