From "Best Indian Restaurants," May 2004

Nirvana is my favorite restaurant for vegetarian Indian food. Each weekday it offers a buffet highlighting a different region of India. Owned and operated by Doler Shah and her husband, Jawahar Shah, Nirvana goes well beyond the standard Indian fare. The Gujarati buffet, from the western state of Gujarat, showcases a perfectly prepared Kobi Nu Shak, a cabbage curry.

Puris--fried Indian bread--are just right, never soggy or oily. The dessert Sev Ni Birang, vermicelli and sugar cooked together, forms a melt-in-your-mouth pudding. The bar menu, in addition to wines and beers, features Indian drinks like somras, prepared with milk, mixed nuts, and rum--just the thing to wash down the Ghata Biryani, chickpea patties layered in rice, from the northeastern state of Rajasthan, or the highly spiced vegetable vindaloo.