I've always had a thing for the beautiful handmade dumplings, each carefully filled with energetically spiced chicken, beef or yak, that Rashmi Bhattachan has been serving for the past few years from her Curry Lane stand at the Mill City Farmers Market. Scarfing them down, particularly on a cool autumn Saturday, always made me wonder how many kinds of goodness she would deliver if she operated her own restaurant.
My curiosity has been satisfied. Bhattachan has teamed up with Sarala Kattel to open Gorkha Palace, cooking a short survey of Nepali, Tibetan and Indian fare that naturally starts with those fantastic dumplings. Along with puffy, blistered, buttery naan straight out of the oven, every meal here should start with paapaddum, the long, delicate lentil crackers, used to scoop up a spicy tomato relish or a cool cucumber-yogurt dip.
There are several fragrant biryanis and a handful of chicken and lamb items prepared in the kitchen's tandoor oven. What really impressed me were the stews, a dozen or so (chicken, lamb, vegetarian), including tender goat, braised on the bone in a thick yogurt-ginger sauce and served over rice. Most prices stay south of $12, and the welcoming setting (formerly Mairin's Table), done up in rich spice-rack colors, is a lot cozier than the off-the-beaten-path location might otherwise suggest.
