Third Coast Cuisine

When it comes to business, there's nothing quite like a family affair -- the warmth, the tradition, the locking yourself in a closet full of cocaine for a decade... For a family ready to fill your belly, hit Spicy Indian Kitchen.

This Tech Ridge exotic chow den's headed up by a clan who held court over an Indian joint in Nepal before packing bags for Arizona, then finally relocating to Austin, specifically to bring you this homey, bronze statue-decorated spot dishing subcontinental staples, as well as Himalayan specialties, which are (o)K2, though they won't make you yak. Everestian holdovers include Momo (minced chicken dumplings served with soup), Taas (stir-fried spicy goat with Nepalese chutney), and Thukpa (noodle/chicken soup), plus traditional chicken dishes like Vindaloo (potatoes, spicy hot chile sauce), Tikka Masala (tandoori roasted, velvety tomato/cream sauce), and the mildly coco-nutty Chicken Madras, slightly more formal than a Pollo Polo. Should ewe be feeling sheepish, they're serving lamb in assorted preparations, like Korma (simmered almond cream sauce), Saag (spiced creamed spinach), Karahi (stir-fry of bell pepper, onion, tomato), and a yogurt-/ginger-marinated rack; seafood specialties run from Shrimp Tandoori (jumbos marinated in yogurt) to the Swordfish Kabob (so the critics aren't the only ones who skewered that movie).

For the vegetarian/girlfriend in your life, they've also got a healthy selection of non-meat, like Aloo Bhojpuri (stuffed potatoes with dry fruit & cottage cheese) and the pea/herb Mushroom Matter, which just like one of Sly's affairs, might leave you seeing Mice and Elfs.