India, in PortlandBollywood Theater serves up from-scratch Indian street food

AT BOLLYWOOD THEATER in Portland, this restaurant takes freshness to heights rarely seen. Helmed by veteran chef Troy MacLarty (formerly of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse and Portland’s Ned Ludd), Bollywood Theater is a go-to for fragrantly spiced street-style food MacLarty discovered during his explorations in India—dishes like savory lamb samosas and rich, creamy curries.

Located at 2039 NE Alberta Street, Bollywood Theater is a great casual stop for Indian street-food classics. It is a spacious location decked out with Indian imagery (including a projector for screening Bollywood films), has a fast-casual vibe: order at the counter, get a number, choose your seat.

Kati rolls are his biggest sellers. The flat bread is formed four to six times a day to produce 125,000 rolls a year for a faithful following willing to stand in lines out the door on weekends. It is MacLarty's inspired and passionate interpretation of Indian street food for which the masses clamor.

From two kitchens that mirror one another, Indian staples like ghee (a type of clarified butter), more than a dozen masalas, marinated paneer, paratha, kati marinade, cabbage slaw, green chutney, sweet & hot (an Indian condiment similar to spicy ketchup), bhel puri (the closest thing to a salad in Indian cuisine featuring nineteen different ingredients) and papri crackers are created and then served to a slew of satisfied diners.

Thanks to his annual travels to India, MacLarty is nailing the atmosphere as well as the menu.

"We do our best to put our food in the proper cultural context so that it makes sense to our diners," MacLarty said. "Ordering at a counter and eating off steel plates in a loud and boisterous room adds to the experience. It wouldn't make sense to eat street food in a fine dining setting.'

His favorite menu item is dahi papri chaat, a sort of Indian comfort food with a Northwest twist that he strives for.