If someone does not enjoy Nawab, they do not enjoy life. Going to the Nawab lunch buffet is one of the few things that can make a busy week tolerable — what is better than getting to eat endless amounts of (good) Indian food?

There have been times when a bad day has been turned into a very good day by nothing more than a visit to Nawab. Even when there is no buffet, Nawab is excellent; there are dishes on the menu that are never on the buffet, and they are all good (at least the ones I’ve tried).

There is no other restaurant in Winston-Salem that is as life-affirming as Nawab. When I go to a buffet, I usually leave displeased with myself, feeling as if I have contributed to some kind of cultural decline through excess. But Nawab is so delicious and not excessive that, even if I eat until I feel sick, I never leave dissatisfied with modern life. It gives me the ability to justify my own poor choices in a way that is eminently satisfying.

Nawab is also the ideal place to meet friends or family. If someone is willing to go with you to Nawab, you can be assured in your knowledge that they are a person of quality. The buffet is the easiest way to get your friends to try new things, so Nawab is also a good way to figure out whether you like someone. It is a fatal character flaw to not like Indian food — I cannot say that I understand people who do not like it. There are few tastes that are not represented in Indian food; often, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami are all present in one Indian dish. What is there not to be enjoyed?

The vegetarian menu alone is worth the visit. Indian food has perfected the vegetarian diet — it would not be incorrect to say that one could live very happily as a vegetarian, eating only Indian food. I have been a vegetarian for ten years, and Indian food has become one of the primary sources of enjoyment in my life. The variety is endless.

The relative affordability of the Nawab lunch buffet makes it almost inexcusable to have not tried it. The lunch buffet is an exercise in overindulgence which I encourage everybody to try. There is something uniquely satisfying in having consumed to the point of absolute contentment; Nawab all the more so because of its quality.

I have no need for quantity over quality — there is nothing interesting in that. But Nawab provides quantity and quality in volumes sufficient for true enjoyment. It gives meaning to life. That one time a month I go to the lunch buffet is a moment of pure fulfillment.