St. Louis offers a surprisingly large number of choices when it comes to Indian cuisine. In fact, in less than ten Google-map minutes (calculated from One Brookings Drive), you can drive to any of four great Indian establishments: India’s Rasoi, Everest Cafe, House of India and the appropriately-named Indian Food.
Such a wide variety of choices can be daunting, but it would be a sin to let indecision hinder you from trying some of the local Indian fare. With a ten-minute driving distance as the entrance criteria, I decided to do a survey of the Indian food options near Washington University.

India’s Rasoi
25 N. Euclid Ave.—$$

Pros: Thoughtful decor, rich and creamy food, amazing lamb shank korma.
Cons: Service can come off as indifferent, slightly higher prices.
Of the four restaurants, Rasoi sets itself apart with the startlingly chic décor expected of an establishment in the Central West End. The restaurant looks sophisticated and cozy, with the lunch buffet discreetly tucked away during dinner hours. A small flat-screen TV quietly plays Indian music videos for your entertainment during lame dates or breaks in conversation.
Rasoi is slightly more expensive to match its fancier appearance and its gourmet and fusion-inspired entrees: main courses average $15-20. The restaurant boasts an extensive menu, and certain specialties are not available elsewhere. The lamb shank korma comes to mind. The big, steamy hunk of succulent lamb prepared in a creamy korma sauce (a mild curry often prepared with coconut milk and various spices, especially coriander) sets the dish apart from the traditional lamb korma that features small chunks of lamb. The dish is served with saffron rice and grilled vegetables.
Avoid asking for dishes to be sent back or corrections to be made to your order, as the staff can be easily irked and often inattentive.
As with all of the other restaurants, Rasoi offers a lunch buffet that provides an excellent value and a good variety of food at lower prices than its dinner offerings.

Everest Cafe
4145 Manchester Ave.—$$

Pros: Healthy and fresh food, passionate and kind ownership.
Cons: Sometimes the food can be dry or overcooked (sometimes not!). The dinner menu is not the best value.
Everest Cafe is a quaint little restaurant that actually boasts Nepalese, Indian, Tibetan and Korean food. I hesitate to criticize Everest Cafe. The chef, Dr. Devi States, holds to a very respectable constitution: serve healthy food of high quality to help prevent diseases that present themselves later in life, like heart disease, stroke and diabetes. States started a health care project in Nepal to help women and children in rural areas, a project helped by the success of Everest.
The menu at Everest Cafe consists mostly of Nepalese and Indian options but also includes Tibetan dumplings and Korean kimchi dishes. The use of cream and butter is extremely limited, and instead, States uses a base sauce made of 80 percent fresh tomato and 20 percent fresh yellow onion.
Though the food is somewhat more expensive than I would have expected based on the quality of the dishes, this can easily be remedied by visiting Everest during lunch instead of dinner. The all-you-can-eat buffet at Everest is a great deal for under $10.

House of India
8501 Delmar Blvd.—$

Pros: Authentic Indian food, great value (especially for the lunch buffet), good variety.
Cons: Somewhat inconsistent from visit to visit.
House of India was my childhood. More weekends than not were spent competing with my brother to determine who could scarf down more chicken tikka masala; fresh, fluffy naan; dark red tandoori chicken and sweet rice pudding.
If it were not for the inconsistency of the quality at House of India, I would give it the highest recommendation. Recently, House of India has been on an upswing with fresh food and great variety. The chicken tikka masala cannot be beat. With entrees at $10-15, the quality-to-price ratio is matched only by Indian Food on Olive Blvd.

Indian Food
8629 Olive Blvd.—$

Pros: Healthy food, great service, good prices.
Cons: Cheap interior.
A small, family-owned restaurant just south of 170 on Olive, Indian Food’s decor matches the distinctiveness of its name—in that it is minimal. The place is only bare essentials, to the point of looking a bit cheap.
In return for tolerating the visual deficits, you get food that is really cheap but still authentic and delicious. Additionally, Indian Food has Pakistani influences and serves halal meat, which is meat that is permissible to eat according to Islamic law.
Like Everest, Indian Food avoids high cream content and instead veers toward heavily flavored foods with the help of a variety of Indian spices. The meat is tender and juicy, and I especially recommend any of the lamb dishes.
The service is very friendly, and though the place looks modest, it has a loyal fan base among locals.