Taj Mahal Restaurant and Grocery, Columbia

Once a dining party slides into a smoky-blue booth under hanging green lights, it's not long before the group is joined by the stars of the evening––stuffed dishes of tandoori chicken and fish cured in the heat of a charcoal clay oven. Black-and-white portraits of historical figures look on with jealousy as patrons kiss scoops of vegetarian and lamb curry dishes, sopped up with warm naan or whole-wheat roti. Meals move from savory to sweet with fruity yogurt drinks and traditional Indian desserts such as the delicate dumplings of gulab jamun—spongy milky balls soaked in a rose-scented syrup with the same sugar content as a baby's giggle.