Getting yourself out of bed on Sunday can be hard work, but a hearty meal can be just what the doctor ordered.
Now, we're both pretty solid fans of Sound Bites as a brunch spot, and Johnny D's also serves up a mean scramble, but sometimes we're just not in the mood to wait 45 minutes to an hour to be seated. Solution: Go somewhere less popular.
Martsa, located on Elm Street in Davis, isn't exactly high on the list of great breakfasts, especially since it offers Tibetan cuisine rather than hash browns and sausage. We didn't really know what to expect from Tibetan, and we had no idea if it would be a good brunch replacement. Still, since it's not often that we're mobilized to get to Davis before lunchtime on a Sunday, we couldn't say no to their $8.95 lunch buffet.
Their Sunday spread varies from week to week and on this particular morning they had a predominantly chicken buffet, including lemon curry chicken, chicken and cabbage, and chili chicken, as well as creamy spinach and tofu, mixed grilled vegetables, fried spinach and garlic dumplings.
They also offered lentil soup, roasted potatoes and eggplant, Tibetan rice, salad (kind of looked like cole slaw but with a vinegar dressing instead of mayonnaise), tingmo (large, doughy, steamed buns) and rice pudding.
Unlike on its packed weekend nights, we found a nearly empty dining room, though one that seems to be twice the size of its former self since its recent renovation. The ambiance has also upgraded to a trendy-Asian-better-than-routine-Indian-cuisine swank.
It's fair to say that in certain circles, buffets have somewhat of a stigma. Conjuring images of grimy food and plates piled high, the associated mantra of 'all you can eat' is understandably off-putting to most people seeking a 'dining out' experience. The true beauty of a buffet though, is that even if you're out alone or with only one companion, you get the chance to sample a little bit of a lot of dishes without having to have an entire entourage to share their dishes family style. If you're new to a type of cuisine, this is especially handy for testing the waters in a semi-safe setting. So if you don't end up liking anything, at least you can eat your $8.95 worth of rice pudding.
While Winston (who doesn't eat red meat) was perky about the multiple poultry options, Charlotte's biggest personal complaint was actually the quality of the meat. It may sound snobbish, but when it comes to what type of meat people like, one needn't be ashamed of having been conditioned one way or another. It's just hard to take the texture of fatty cuts of meat, which made most of the chicken dishes a challenge.
On the bright side, there's nothing wrong with veering toward the vegetables and catching up on some tofu. Having said that, Winston still went up for multiple helpings and certainly ate his fair share.
The general consensus was that - while not terrible - Martsa's lunch isn't great. But maybe it was just the buffet, because the main menu (which we stole a glance at) definitely has potential. We would love to come back on some Friday night to sample some of its appetizers and dinner plates (shamelessly, we did have one, the sweet-rice desserts, after our buffet), but we don't see ourselves making another lunch trip any time soon.
Winston Berkman is a sophomore majoring in international relations; Charlotte Bourdillon is a sophomore who has not declared a major. They can be reached at Winston.Berkman@tufts.edu and Charlotte.Bourdillon@tufts.edu, respectively.
