tiffin

tiffin
7105 emlen street (see website for additional locations around philadelphia)
philadelphia, pa
(215) 925 0770
www.tiffin.com

type of cuisine: indian
culinary excellence: 6
vegan friendliness: 6

i was hoping to check out the new downtown veg restaurant thoreau last evening, but they were all booked up until 9:15, so luca and i headed over to our local indian restaurant. it seems like tiffin primarily does web-order delivery all over this fine city, but they also have dine-in establishments in northern liberties, elkins park, mt. airy and girard avenue. according to their website, they're also planning to open two branches on the main line. the mt. airy location is small and intimate, with deep orange walls and around 6 or 7 tables. i was a bit concerned that none of the servers knew what "vegan" meant, but they do specialize in vegetarian fare and i tried to explain to our waiter that i don't eat dairy. at first when i asked about yogurt or ghee in the samosas, he seemed to suggest that they did not meet my specifications. but then he spoke to someone in the back and told me it was ok, so who knows? i went ahead and ordered them, along with baingan bharta, or smoked eggplant sauteed with tomatoes, onions, herbs and spices. luca and i shared an order of naan. when the food came, the first thing we noticed was that it actually tasted healthy - not the usual salty, greasy grub served up at most indian joints. the samosas seemed more baked than deep fried and you could actually taste the different elements of the potato filling. i enjoyed dousing mine in the three chutneys - one sweet, one spicy and one fruity. my eggplant dish was not the consistency i was expecting. instead of chunks of eggplant mixed together with the other ingredients, it was blended into a thick but light, textured puree. still, the flavors were subtle and enjoyable alongside the delicate basmati rice. i added just a bit of salt, which brought out the smokiness. the naan was a bit dry and tasteless, but again, probably because it wasn't covered in grease. i will definitely return to tiffin to check out more of their offerings and i'll do my best to find out if the food is completely vegan.