Spice of Life

3 Reviews on “Spice of Life”

• Amit Luthra

  Great food. Humble and polite staff. Quick service…..a must place to visit in prince george. Good options for vegetarians as well. Have been there few times.

  August 7, 2017, 8:51 pm

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• Nathan William McSween

  Initially the buffet was fantastic, the naan bread was lightly brushed with olive oil, the butter chicken had cardimom in it! It was 10/10. On our second, third and finally fourth visit the food regressed into what tasted like tomato sauce and chicken and dry tasteless naan bread.

  May 9, 2017, 7:44 am

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• Prince Gastronome

  This is not a review. To offer one now would impose a judgement on something half-built, like criticizing a movie based solely on the trailerwhich people do. Or dismissing a video game based on screenshotswhich people also do. These are bad comparisons. Okay, it would be like seeing a half-carved chunk of unpolished soapstone and claim the end result would not be considered art. Theres just no way to know. Spice of Life is still in that embryonic stage, with those waiting to see if they end up with an Einstein or a Garbage Pail Kid. At the time of writing this, it lacked a liquor license and a proper POS system. Thankfully, the TVs are installed, because when I want to watch the big-game, I wont go to the BX Pub thirty feet away, Ill come here. There must be some checklist, maybe a guide-book every entrepreneur is handed before opening a restaurant. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Restaurant Owners, and maybe that book will also be a thinly veiled conveyance of religious dogma. Only employ shades of brown, cram menus into clear plastic folders, use rounded-top metal chairs, and best to have some fake fire element somewhere. Oh and a bar with stools but a counter too small for anyone to actually eat at. But this is not a review. Spice of Life is promising, and its owner is a genuinely kind person of which I hope the absolutely best. He has his work cut out for him. By this posting, he had only been in town for about three months, unaware of the level of competition in town. Its a sad truth that this city is still steeped in tradition, and when I say tradition, I mean narrow biases clung to by old people. There are around a hundred restaurants (loose with the definition) excluding the fast food franchises, and more than half are occupied by Japanese, Chinese, American, and Indian establishments. So by walking into that ring, you better have the bravado of Randy Savage (when he was alive, now not so much). Dragon Stone Mongolian Grill entered surrounded by a dozen mediocre Chinese restaurants and walked out with barely a scratch. With Indian food, I wouldnt want to step into that octagon. Sure, there have been reports of reduced quality with Dana Mandi and Spicy Greens, but this town has Karahi King, still standing as the #1 restaurant in town. Not among the Indian restaurants, but of the entire town. Its buffet is rated as one of the best in the province. Forget Randy, were talking Anderson Silva here. Admittedly, Spice of Life does follow that aforementioned playbook. So the challenge remains, what can they do to set themselves apart? I offered some advice: do something different. Firstly, one issue with most ethnic restaurants is a lack of promotion. Karahi King may be #1, but their Facebook page has one-tenth the likes of the #2 restaurant. The only other Indian restaurant with an online presence promotes an app so your fifth buffet is free. Oooh, pinch me. The strongest characteristic of the top restaurants in town is the business acumen of their owners. So when Spice of Life officially opens, it should reach out and stamp its feet on the ground, point to a location in the stands, and dare itself to score a home run. The menu should be addressed to. The options look good, and the food we did get was worthy of praise, but theres an encroaching stigma of westernized Indian food. Of course, one will find pakoras, vindaloos, tikka masalas, and kormas, but it will be in the application of spices and the inclusion of unique offerings that will set one apart. My suggestion was a fresh sheeta weekly or even monthly collection of uniquely authentic Indian dishes found nowhere else. My initial suggestion was a dum biryani, which is considerably different than a regular biryani. Trust me, its amazing. Whats impressive is that the owner wants to do this. He understands the challenges necessary and for the business to succeed, the customers wont naturally come to him. For the time I was there, I ordered a collection of vegetarian pakoras and samosas along with the chicken tikka masala, while my companion ordered the standard butter chicken. I honestly felt the butter chicken was a plain, a thickened spiced tomato soup with huge chunks of chicken and not much else. The masala was considerably better. The prices were extremely reasonable. I have high hopes for Spice of Life, and when the grand opening occurs, I promise to be there and suffer through what is to be expected amazing Indian food. To be continued

  April 15, 2016, 11:28 am

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