In a town full of buffet deals, it's hard to get excited about another one, but on the other hand, all those other buffet deals offer pretty much identical food: carving stations, various cafeteria hot dishes, and so forth. Here at Shalimar, a lunch buffet means about two dozen different North Indian-style dishes, all for about $7.50. It's not as colorful or huge (in fact, it's just a table covered with steam trays) as those buffets up the street, but it is far more interesting. It's also a great deal and one of the first places to run to if you're sick of Strip food. Just ask the locals, who voted it their favorite ethnic restaurant in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's annual poll.

The buffet usually includes tandoori (chicken marinated in spiced yogurt and cooked in a clay oven), masala (tandoori in a curry sauce), naan (the flat Indian bread), and various vegetable dishes. Vegetarians will find plenty to eat here -- they offer special veggie dishes daily. One standout at a recent visit was the bengan bharta (eggplant diced fine and cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices). There was also a yellow-squash curry that was outrageously good. The tandoori chicken was perfect, tender, and moist. (Tandoori, by the way, is a very low-fat way of preparing chicken.) In the evening, there is a full Indian menu, with vindaloo (an especially hot curry where the meat is marinated in vinegar), flavored naans (try the garlic or onion), and other Indian specialties offered a la carte. They will spice to order: mild, medium, hot, or very hot. If you make a mistake, you can always order raita (yogurt mixed with mild spices and cucumber); it cools your mouth nicely.

The restaurant has managed to spruce up its strip-mall corner nicely, thanks to some Indian-style metal hanging lamps and peaked archways.