The Indian food situation in Austin is improving, as evidenced mainly by the few small, hard-to-find places dotting the northern landscape. Among these is Maharaja, a spectacularly executed, authentic, and unbelievably low-priced denizen of the (surprise) Spicewood Springs strip mall where Asia Café and Chen’s Noodle House currently live.

The small space is cozy and nice enough to hang out in, with archetypical archways and warm colors. A few well-placed flatscreen TVs show the best of Bollywood, and the amiable owners welcome you to bring your own wines to pair with the fantastic array of spices here. As they hail from Goa, the Portuguese-influenced coastal town, you’ll find many of those shrimpy and fish-focused specialties here, as well as all the vegetable-centric southern and lambalicious northern favorites. Put any dish here next to a dish at one of your usual go-tos and see if you don’t detect more layered spicing and brighter spikes of ginger, cardamom, or coriander. But what separates Maharaja from some of the other new, spice-aggressive operations popping up down south, is that the flavors fall into seamless harmony with one another.

Of course, expect meat dishes to come with bones, as this meat did in fact come from animals—also a refreshing change from the spongy white “meat” and chewy hunks of lamb that formerly characterized Austin Indian take-out. Now to improve this grim Italian situation…