Taste of India in Buttonwillow — inhabitants 1,339 — has at all times drawn my eyeballs to its purple pavilion-style roof and easy promoting. Words of encouragement — “try our vegan food” — seem on the rooftop in white lettering. 

The restaurant’s branding distinguishes itself from the roadside city, in any other case awash in generic logos for motels and fuel corporations. Approaching Buttonwillow, I-5 rises from an overpass to supply drivers a full view of the Central Valley village under. Taste of India is the primary landmark that northbound drivers see when passing by this outpost west of Bakersfield. And, in every path, it gives a milepost for the lengthy drive forward.

After years of passing by, I needed to pull off the freeway and at last do that traditional roadside oddity.

The restaurant’s house owners informed me they acknowledged that their simple advertising ploy was a hit after taking on in 2008. They have continued to capitalize on their proximity to the freeway, along with starting to department out throughout the Central Valley. A second Taste of India lately opened in Lost Hills about 20 miles away. 

“When someone is hungry, they start to look for food — then they see the sign. The sign adds a lot,” mentioned Malkit Sogy, a co-owner of the restaurant. He and his enterprise accomplice, Pritpal, bought Taste of India in 2008 after Pritpal, who owns a close-by fuel station, ate on the restaurant and instantly noticed a possibility. 

Sogy mentioned the complete enterprise deal occurred throughout a single day; they ate, handed over a test and obtained the keys. 

There was already “Taste of India” in yellow letters on the roof when the 2 males bought the restaurant, however they quickly responded to buyer demand. “A lot of people asked for vegan food, so we put it on the roof,” Sogy mentioned. A brand new set of white letters quickly appeared.

In 2016, they renovated the restaurant by eradicating its carpet and portray the ceiling black — a small design selection that helps cool off prospects after they escape the surface warmth. Madhu Yellaprada has labored as a server ever because the change of possession and mentioned the restaurant sees a major increase every time there’s heavier visitors on I-5, typically on weekends or holidays.

Big rig truckers, who virtually at all times order takeout, are loyal prospects, Yellaprada mentioned. To particularly cater to this clientele, Taste of India shares a mini market of products, together with chai, transportable fuel stoves, Shakkar molasses powder and imported liquors from India. 

The Washington Post reported earlier this 12 months that Punjabi truckers are dominating the Indian trucking industry, making up almost 20% of the U.S. trucking trade. 

Akin to a roadside restaurant discovered throughout Pakistan and India known as a dhaba, Taste of India gives a well-recognized delicacies and welcoming pit cease for Punjabi truckers hauling up the principle California hall. The restaurant can be a change of tempo from the widespread road-trip quick meals nosh and an opportunity for me to stretch my legs and dart from the desert humidity. 

I heard a variation of the homely Westminster Chimes play upon getting into the entrance door. Inside, the partitions are painted yellow and burgundy, a stark distinction to that jet-black cover. Ceiling followers hummed in movement towards mushy, rhythmic Sikh hymns taking part in through YouTube. 

Yellaprada sprang from the counter to welcome me to a desk inside the cafeteria-style eating room after which identified the favored meals gadgets. “Everybody likes the butter chicken,” he mentioned, noting the nonvegan facet of the menu. “We only keep things that people want to eat.” 

I ordered the butter rooster, garlic naan and a dish off the now-famous vegan menu: mushroom matar in a curry sauce. The menu’s pricing was closely redacted and up to date on account of inflation — a handwritten notice on the backside mentioned the restaurant can change costs with out discover — however $11 for a hearty bowl of Indian meals remains to be a steal from a San Franciscan perspective. 

Taste of India in Buttonwillow, Calif., off Interstate 5, serves quite a lot of dishes, together with butter rooster and shahi paneer, high left, and aloo gobi, high proper. (Images through Yelp customers Vishal S., Lindsay B., Jaron L., Kiersten Y.)
Taste of India in Buttonwillow, Calif., off Interstate 5, serves quite a lot of dishes, together with butter rooster and shahi paneer, high left, and aloo gobi, high proper. (Images through Yelp customers Vishal S., Lindsay B., Jaron L., Kiersten Y.)

Dabbing some bites with mint chutney and scooping the remainder with naan, I topped off my meal with a refreshingly creamy mango lassi, feeling glad and comforted by the indoor oasis. I contemplated the unintended facet impact of saucier meals battling my bowels for the miles to return, however fortunately, the remainder of the highway journey went easily. Taste of India handed all my checks. 

Sogy talked about that the restaurant’s greatest problem is retaining a chef and workers. Like in different kitchens, there’s lots of turnover, however the restaurant continues to make use of eight individuals in Buttonwillow and three in Lost Hills. To assist mediate their staffing problem, the restaurateurs, who each dwell in Bakersfield, bought a house in Buttonwillow only for their workers and supplied them with a automotive. Sogy hopes it will retain employees within the Central Valley outpost. 

On my means out the door, Yellaprada insisted on providing a cup of chai for the highway. The sultry local weather didn’t hold me from sipping on the spices as I blew previous an indication for Los Angeles, simply 120 miles away.