Passing by Bakersfield on the way to Vegas, we stopped at the very well known Punjabi Dhaba for lunch. Originally a roadside pitstop, now a restaurant in a very quiet office park. I think their interstate location would reopen later. The restaurant is very well known among the Indian community in the Bay Area.
I think proper expectations is needed to evaluate Punjabi Dhaba. If the quality of the food is the same at the roadside stand, then I’d say its food is a very good option along I5, and much better than the usual, very limited fast food. For a sit-down restaurant, I think its decent and compares fine with the Bay Area options.
Summary: get the goat curry, it really was good, and eat it with some roti/ paratha. Skip the other stuff.
We got 2 paratha and 2 tawa rotis, and some jeera basmati rice.
Clockwise from top: The goat curry, chicken tikka masala, dal makhni. We got the chicken tikka masala for the kids. Everyone ended up just wolfing down the goat curry and I ended up with a whole tub of chicken and dal to finish. Did I say, get the goat curry? Get it in the large size.
Mango lassi:
