Avatar's

Indian-Mexican-Jamaican fusion cuisine. Yup.

In a somewhat unpretentious mini-mall on Bridgeway lay a litle joint that was soon to become an inspirational culinary favorite of mine. Avatar's.

Apparently, the original Avatar (his name, not his job description, although one does feel a bit like an avatar himself after consuming a Chicken Curry Enchilada) started the place back in the eighties. His death didn't stop the spicy love that emanates from the place.

I say "love" because, lovely food aside, I've never seen such a humanistic restaurant up here. Granted, my parsimonious self spends a lot of time in my own kitchen (recipe soon to be posted, BTW) so my restaurant experience is somewhat limited--but on Thanksgiving Day, nothing at Avatar's is for sale.

They instead open the doors at 3pm for a giant community dinner and make room for anyone who wants to sit down to a Punjabi Tostada. It's a far cry from the Marin: Extraordinary Living pretentiousness of Poggio or the bloomin' onion wretchedness of Outback, across the freeway.

My trips to Avatar's (and its satellite in downtown MV) have inspired me as to the following recipe, which I've made several times to the applause of my taste buds.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Addictive-Sweet-Potato-Burritos/Detail.aspx