I have been on a real-world international food kick over the past few months. More to the point, I have been trying all the best Indian restaurants around town in search of something new, different and, above all, utterly delicious.
That search led me to Tikka Craze, 4104 N. Portland Ave., a fast-casual Indian restaurant that also specializes in homemade Pakistani dishes.
While many OKC Indian restaurants lean vegetarian, with bright, complex spice blends, Pakistani food is often more meat-centric, built around slow-cooked gravies and heavier, smoky flavors that I can really get behind.
Without fail, I made unshakable plans to go with my wife that weekend.
Though the weather wasn’t all that good, we made it out and, to be sure, I was excited. We walked right in and up to the counter to order, and even though I was ready, they gave my wife some samples from a cafeteria-style hot bar full of curries so that she could make an informed decision.
Orders placed, I looked around the restaurant and, though the outside of the place was drab, the inside was very festive, with brassy bright colors, a country music station playing over the speakers, and exciting ads for a new Biryani Pizza.
Next time, I thought…
Besides, our first order was up, an extremely large piece of Garlic Naan ($3.49), which was roughly the size of a personal-sized pan pizza!
Recently adopted as my “go-to” bread, Tikka Craze’s naan was soft, pliable, and covered in a glistening sheen of garlic and butter. Though it’s usually a side piece to tear, dip and ingest, here it feels like a true appetizer, and it deserves its place as a first-string starter.
As I was chowing down on that naan, my wife dug into her extra spicy Butter Chicken ($10.99). With her own side of naan wedges, a small salad, and a heaping helping of basmati rice, it was a classic Indian dish featuring tender chicken drowning in a creamy, buttery tomato-based sauce.
Aided by a tasty Mango Lassi ($5.99) beverage, the Butter Chicken was aromatic in all the right ways. The rich, buttery tomato sauce and simmering spices gave the whole dish real depth, and with the perfectly tender basmati rice, it helped temper the heat of the curry and balance the whole dish out.
With my own specialized drink, the rose-flavored Rooh Afza ($3.99) with milk, I was served an authentic Pakistani dish, the rich and smoky Goat Karahi ($17.99). It was a tomato-based stewed mutton, brimming with the trifecta of ginger, garlic, and chiles.
After one bite, I was entranced.
The plump pieces of juicy, unbelievably tender goat were tastefully adorned with ginger and chiles providing the heat, while the garlic and tomatoes gave it a little pull-back, all coming together in a whole new taste that rightfully filled me up.
To be sure, I drained the whole bowl, my remaining piece of naan being used to mop up the remaining sauce. A perfect introduction to Pakistani cuisine!
I was already filled with that traditional Karahi and all the naan, but I desperately needed some worldly dessert to cool me down, namely the rice-pudding treat of Kheer or the deep-fried dough of the Mithai.
Honestly, I was prepared to eat both, but our waitperson spared me a food coma by saying they were all out of desserts until later in the afternoon.
True, I was somewhat heartbroken by the news, but it also gave me the perfect excuse to come back post haste and try the missed sweets and that other curious dish I have been slowly craving, the new Biryani Pizza.
What impressed me most about my first visit to Tikka Craze was its unpretentious mix of familiar Indian favorites and robust, unique Pakistani dishes I hadn't seen or experienced before. It gave me a new stamp in my passport to flavor and more than enough reason to come back for seconds.
Cómpralo ya!
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Follow Louis Fowler on Instagram at @louisfowler78.
