If I was tied to a kicking donkey and tickled with 1,000 tiny feathers until I proclaimed one ethnicity of food superior to all others, I would probably say Indian.  Granted, some argue that intelligence gained by torture is unreliable.  You decide.

Strangely, we haven't found a lot of "great" Indian food in Los Angeles (at least for a reasonable price).  In a city this diverse, you'd certainly expect to find a plethora, a gaggle, or at least a handful or good picks.  Not so.  However, as always, if you feel differently, let us know.

Having lived in England for a couple years, I've had some serious Indian meals (trust me, they know what they are doing over there).  Maybe my expectations are too high.  But so far, only one restaurant has merited an addition to this list.  Too many others are hit or miss, overpriced, bland, or poorly executed.

All this said, Tandoor-a-India is certainly a worthy mention.  This little restaurant is located in Marina Del Rey, not far from the beach.  The building looks like a mishmash of wood and lights and it feels like a little piece of Bombay.  Parking is on the roof, and the interior is dark, quiet, and just tacky enough to be awesome.  The prices are reasonable, staying around $8 per main dish.  However, if you want the full experience, I suggest investing a little more money in your meal (think about $15 per person).

For starters, I recommend the mixed appetizers plate - it comes with a variety of fried goodies.  Also the mango lassis are great and worth a buy (cold yogurt mango drink, for newbies), as is often the case with most lassis.  But the real magic is in the curries.

Tandoor-a-India, as the name suggests, features meat cooked in a tandoori clay oven.  This means awesome.  Again, I usually stick pretty close to the standards at this place, because they do it oh so well. I highly recommend the chicken tikka masala, the vindaloo curry, and the karahi curry.  Feel free to request these "spicy" - I've never had them come too hot.

You'll find that a few key things set this restaurant apart:  (1) the vibe is very cool; (2) the chicken and other meats are very quality and cooked perfectly; (3) the curries are dark, rich, and seriously good; and (4) the naan bread, which you must order, is excellent.  Give it a try.