San Francisco - September 27, 2006

License to Drive

Junnoon Restaurant

The dude at the taqueria knows your bean order by heart. And the pho delivery guy doesn’t even have to ask for your address anymore.

You’re in a food rut. And you’re not alone. (Your BFF has a running tab at the pizzeria on the corner.)

So round up the posse and take a road trip to Palo Alto’s Junnoon, a sultry modern Indian joint where the flavors are as punchy as the raspberry-hued walls and the Tantrika caipirinhas. Chef Floyd Cardoz from Tabla in New York consulted on the menu to create dishes like Bombay cod and crab cakes, Old Delhi-style chicken, and Tandoori grilled prawns dipped in coconut-mustard sauce.

Go for the new six-course tasting menu, which includes airy semolina shells stuffed with sprouted mung beans, tangy tamarind, and yogurt and roasted free-range Australian lamb sirloin resting on spiced corn. And try to save room for the cardamom-spiced molten chocolate cake.

It may take some extra planning, and it’s not exactly your easy, last-minute neighborhood meal.

But you have that department covered already.

Junnoon, 150 University Avenue, at High Street (650-329-9644 or junnoon.com).