From Our Foreign Curryspondent … Dateline: Colorado!

(The TATTGOC brotherhood extends around the globe, and we welcome reports of curry expeditions beyond Glasgow – here TATTGOC’s first Texan, Savvy Saag, reports on her big feed under the gaze of Bigfoot in the town of Golden, Colorado, USA)

Sherpa House Restaurant and Cultural Center

Your Foreign Curryspondent: Savvy Saag

In Attendance: Savvy Saag and her two boys that probably don’t meet the facial hair requirements of TATTGOC. One of them would quite like to be referred to as "Yak Attack".

Décor: When you first walk into the Sherpa House, it’s so peaceful, you wonder if you have actually been transported to the Himalayas. While I would rank creek-side dining in Golden higher, you will rarely find anyone eating inside the restaurant on a summer night. The best part though, has to be the resident yeti that somehow blends into its surroundings so much so that I missed him probably the first 12 visits.

Himalayas. Rockies. Same thing.



The Experience:

It was during my stint working in Scotland in 2007 that I was first introduced to curry. But I’m embarrassed to say that at first I didn’t find it pleasant or all that enjoyable. That was until I discovered saag, at the suggestion of a coworker. It was my gateway curry. Previously, I just sustained on naan whenever we were “going for a curry.” It was a whole new experience for me – it felt like I had been deprived for far too many years. But if you kids over there have it good when it comes to curries (and bangers, and sticky toffee, and Belhaven), I can take you any day on Mexican food, buffalo and peach cobbler.

Colorado’s state dish is apparently pork green chili, which makes appearances as soups and sauces on any upstanding menu. The good people of Colorado also take pride in their buffalo and elk meats, goat cheese, peaches from the western slope (of which I might have bought upwards of 60 pounds – almost 30kg – last summer), local farmers, and organic foods. That said, Colorado also does a fine job on international cuisine compared to my old stomping ground of Texas. You essentially cannot go anywhere without running into a curry house, and the Sherpa House is my favorite.

The Sherpa House is legit – family-owned from Tibetan ancestry. The menu blends Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan food beautifully and the staff are nothing short of lovely. On this particular night, we started with the vegetable momo with fresh tomato sauce, garlic naan that left us with breath that could fend off swarms of mosquitoes, and a Caesar salad. Obviously someone wanted to up his veg tally for the day, but this starter was wonderfully written up as “scissor” salad on the ticket. Regardless, all these dishes were fabulous.

While the Sherpa House does the best Chai tea this side of the Mississippi, we all opted for alcoholic beverages on our happy hour. A recent change to the menu is that the only beers that grace the tables are from the microbreweries O’Dell’s and Golden City Brewery (lovingly known as the second largest brewery in Golden and hands down my favorite). These might not be Indian, Tibetan, Nepalese, but then they’re thankfully not Coors (the other brewery in town) either, and they taste mighty fine. Other drinks offerings include a variety of lassis and sodas.

New to the Colorado scene of meats is yak, which we all decided to try. The boys opted for the yak sizzler. The Texan in me wants to describe this as the Sherpa version of fajitas: Texas-size portions of the red yak meat marinated in house-made yogurt, grilled onions and peppers, daal, and rice served on a – yes! – sizzling skillet. I have yet to meet someone that can turn down that kind of deliciousness. Trying to live up to my Foreign Curryspondent duties, I gave the yak curry a shot for the first time, as it isn’t always on the menu or is sometimes sold out. I’m hopelessly in love with the Sherpa House’s tomato-based curries and was immediately sold on this dish.

If you’re feeling especially brave, you may ask for the hot sauce, which makes an unnamed member of our Curry Club cry every time – in the manliest way possible, of course.

Sadly, our bellies were too stuffed for desserts. But as always, the overall experience was wonderful.

Highlights: The yeti and never-disappointing food.

Lowlights: None. Ever.

The Damage: $75.35 (plus tip: about 15 bucks)

Cheers Savvy Saag! If you have a global curry tale you'd like to share, drop us a line at trampyandthetramp@gmail.com. And prepare thyself for the return of Pilau Talk: The Legends next week ...