Well, it was their loss. If they had asked, I would have told them about England’s amazing Indian cuisine and the fact that I may have become obsessed with a dish called chana masala.

Inevitably, my first food review back at Wash. U. brought me to a restaurant called House of India. I decided to go out to eat with my vegetarian friend on a Sunday. It just so happens that House of India is indeed one of the only restaurants nearby that is both vegetarian and open on Sundays. (Aside from one restaurant I discovered, which is apparently run by a cult. I decided against that one.)

The restaurant had a bright and pleasant interior. Booths lined the walls, and tables with white cloths graced the center of the room. Rose and light green curtains hung around the windows, which surrounded the dining room. Matching lights hung over the booths. Upbeat Indian music played at an appropriate volume in the background.

Now on to what you really care about: the food. Every day from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., House of India holds a lunch buffet. Classic Indian dishes are offered in addition to a few unique ones you may not have tried before. They serve chicken tikka masala, chana masala, alu gobi, vegetable korma…the list goes on. The buffet was a pretty good deal, too. Without any fancy drinks (we just drank the free water), the whole buffet, which included dessert, cost $8.75 per person.

One of the first dishes I tried, and a favorite among my friends, was a corn salad, which consisted of kernels of corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions. The salad was a refreshing, cool complement to some of the hot and spicy dishes. Another tasty, cool salad called chane-ki-chaat was made with chickpeas, potatoes, chopped cucumber and onions in a mild mint and yogurt sauce.

The warm dishes were all quite good. My favorite was probably the vegetable korma, which was made up of mixed vegetables, including diced potatoes, peas and cauliflower, in a mild curry cream sauce. The chicken tikka masala was also a hit with its tender pieces of roasted chicken breast in a creamy tomato sauce. The alu gobi was another vegetarian masterpiece, made with cauliflower, potatoes, onions and fresh tomatoes.

We also enjoyed the paneer makhni, which was both savory and satisfying. Paneer is a type of cheese made in India and has a texture comparable to tofu. The cheese was sliced into bite-sized squares and mixed in a creamy, buttery tomato sauce. The sauce was outstanding over a bed of white rice. And last but not least, they did indeed serve my beloved chana masala. This chana masala was less sweet than the one I had in England, but it was still quite good. It consisted of steamed chickpeas mixed in a sauce of fresh tomatoes and onions with a hint of ginger and garlic.

After the feast, my friends and I took a breather and then made our way back to the buffet table to try the desserts. A variety of unique options were available. I tried one called jalebi. This bright orange, deep-fried treat was shaped similarly to a pretzel and was about the size of the palm of my hand. It had a crunchy texture and sweet, sugary flavor. My friends remarked that it reminded them of funnel cake, though crunchier but just as delicious.

So whether you’re craving Indian cuisine, have a vegetarian diet or are simply looking for something fun and different to do for lunch, check out the House of India. You certainly won’t leave disappointed, and you most definitely won’t leave with an empty stomach.

8501 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63124
4/5 stars

Now, the University is looking to help bring some trolleys back to the Delmar Loop after their absence from St. Louis for more than 40 years.

“Wash. U. is interested in the continued development and vibrancy of the Loop,” said Cheryl Adelstein, director of community relations and local government affairs at the University. “Any project that involves the Loop, we would like to be at the table so we can understand what’s going on.”

Backers are proposing a 2.2-mile, fixed-track trolley line that would run from Trinity Avenue down Delmar Boulevard and turn right on DeBaliviere Avenue until the Missouri History Museum. Many questions about the project still remain, so supporters stress the project is still in its infancy.

Members of the advisory board of the Loop Trolley Company (LTC), the non-profit group behind the idea, say trolleys would foster development on the Loop, provide environmentally friendly transportation and reduce congestion. Among the advisory board members is Adelstein, who said students would benefit.

“It could be a quick way to get up and down Delmar,” Adelstein said. “It could provide some additional transportation options, provide an additional way for people to get into Forest Park.”

In fact, ridership models show students would make up a “significant part” of the market for the trolley, said Tom Shrout, executive director of Citizens for Modern Transit.

The LTC has not decided whether the western endpoint will come to a direct stop at Trinity or if the track will loop around the Trinity Avenue-Delmar intersection. Adelstein said the University would like the western end to serve the 560 Music Building, which is at the corner of Trinity and Delmar, to give music students easy access.

Supporters said the trolleys would be electric-battery hybrids that run on an in-street track. The trolleys would run with traffic in two street lanes. Hours of operation would likely be from 7 a.m. until 1 a.m.

But the LTC, headed by Loop businessman Joe Edwards, still has to address questions of funding, what fares to charge, engineering, and who will operate the system.

Funding is the biggest question. The system will cost from $48 million to $57 million to build. Although there would be fares, they still would not cover the additional $4.2 million annual operating cost, Adelstein said.

Shrout said the project has some funding for engineering studies from University City’s economic development sales tax and other funding from a new sales-tax district in the Loop area.

Supporters have also asked U.S. Reps. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, and William Lacy Clay Jr., D-St. Louis, to acquire $40 million in congressional funding for the project. Private donations could also be needed.

Adelstein said consultants plan to present financing options at an upcoming LTC advisory board meeting.

Despite concerns about traffic and costs, many at the University seem open to the project.

“Any time you have public transportation that can relieve congestion, that can get people around, that is as romantic and aesthetically appealing as this is, it’s fantastic,” said Andrew Rehfeld, associate professor of political science and a former and future resident of University City.

Senior Kyle Koch, who lives near Kayak’s Coffee, said he wouldn’t be opposed to trolleys on the Loop. But he noted they would not touch main campus.

“I’d rather see them put more money toward the Metro, after they cut some of those funds,” Koch said.

Traffic was a primary concern of local residents at a public forum on the trolley project last July. Some locals said trolleys could worsen traffic on the Loop by stopping in the street to pick up passengers.

Shrout said the system could actually reduce traffic by providing another transportation option.

“You could make a case that it could subtract cars [from the road],” Shrout said. “A group of students, instead of piling into a car to go to Blueberry Hill, might instead jump on the trolley.”

Trolleys could also spur development, Shrout said, because building tracks into the road tells developers that the trolley routes are permanent.

If the project succeeds, it would put trolleys on the road for the first time since May 1966, when the last trolleys to serve St. Louis went out of operation.

Shrout said St. Louis developed around trolleys and used to have one of the largest rail networks in the country, with more than 1,400 trolleys. The city and many of its inner-ring suburbs thrived off trolleys throughout the early 20th century.

But after World War II, Shrout said, the rise of highways caused rail transit to go out of fashion. One by one, the city pulled its trolley tracks from the road.

“I think the region is coming full circle after a number of years,” Shrout said. “People are realizing that rail transit is important to having a vibrant city.”

Adelstein said the trolley system would have no direct impact on the school’s sustainability plans. But she acknowledged that “anything that reduces car trips would help” lower emissions.

Edwards, who owns Blueberry Hill, The Pageant, Pin-Up Bowl and other Loop businesses, devised the idea in 1997. A 2000 study by Metro found that a trolley system would be feasible and encourage development on the Loop. Citizens for Modern Transit then took over the project and founded the LTC.

The LTC recently acquired a federal grant to restore two old streetcars, which are now on display outside the Missouri History Museum and Commerce Bank on the Loop.

The property, a highly visible building on the northwestern corner of Eastgate Avenue and Delmar Boulevard, now joins the ranks of a number of other properties in the Loop owned by the University, most of which were purchased within the past few years.

According to Assistant Vice Chancellor for Operations Steve Hoffner, the building’s exact purpose has yet to be determined.

“We bought it because it’s adjacent to the other buildings Washington University owns in the Loop,” Hoffner said.

The adjacent buildings, Hoffner explains, are currently being used as graduate housing, and owning this new property “will provide greater flexibility in planning in the future.”

The University’s focus on bolstering its presence in the Loop stems from the street’s position as “an important relaxation and entertainment place to Wash. U. students,” Hoffner said.

“We place great importance on it and want to make sure it remains this vibrant,” he said. “[To achieve this], we work closely with the community.”

The University provides patrols to neighborhood security, makes annual contributions to University City police services and hires a community liaison who regularly attends the meetings held by the Loop Special Business District, a union formed by the business owners in the Loop.

Joe Edwards, a participant in this union as owner of Blueberry Hill and the Pageant Theatre—two of the most popular venues on the Loop—is enthusiastic about the community’s collaboration with the University.

“Washington University is a great community partner,” he said. “It has a great view for the future of the area and has made a wonderful statement of dedication to the community by purchasing properties for its North Campus in the Skinker-Delmar-MetroLink triangle. [The purchases by the University] helps stabilize the area by turning unused properties into well-kept ones, and [our partnership with the University] helps build up a wonderful community where everybody feels welcome.”

Edwards believes that this partnership was a significant contributor to the recent naming of the Delmar Loop as one of the 10 great streets in America by the American Planning Association in 2007.

“[The selection was] one of the most exciting outcomes of our partnership [with the University]. It attracted a lot of tourists and travel writers in the past year; articles about Delmar appeared in publications like Time and The New York Times,” Edwards said. “It was an important recognition.”

According to Hoffner, the University has yet to receive any negative feedback in response to its strong presence on the Loop.

Rachel Leibovich, an employee at Coldstone Creamery on the Loop, says that she has only had positive experiences with University students.

“They visit frequently; we even have a couple of regulars. They’re great. We have also fundraised for students in the past,” Leibovich said. “We definitely welcome [the] Wash. U. presence.”

Univerity students are also ready to offer their presence on the Loop.

University alum and first year graduate student Ceyla Erhan said the Loop has always been an important place for her to relax and have fun.

“I come from a very big, vibrant city, so I value having a place like the Loop close by,” Erhan said. “I go there three or four times a week just to hang out. I also pass by it everyday to get to school this year since I live two streets down the Loop.”

Safety is a top priority for someone like Erhan.

“I walk or ride my bike home every day, so it’s important that the Loop is safe. I definitely see a lot of Wash. U. patrols around, perhaps slightly more so in the past few years than this year, but I think it’s safe,” she said.