This week's "try somewhere new" lunch brought me Indian Rasoi, the new Indian restaurant that was formally home to Dancing Ganesha.

I felt a bit skeptical walking into the restaurant, 1692 N. Van Buren St. I was a fan of Dancing Ganesha, enjoying both its food and its lovely décor. The new restaurant boasts a temporary vinyl sign and has been totally repainted in uninspired, but not unpleasant pastel hues.

Gone are the funky murals and artwork, replaced by framed prints I imagine were picked up at a Mumbai dollar store. The music, cranked fairly loud, sounded more like one long cell phone ring tone, not the funky Balliwood music I've come to expect.

Fortunately, the food did most of the talking.

For a mere $8, we enjoyed an excellent, filling and diverse buffet. I loaded up on chicken Tikka Masala, vegetable fritters, Nan, rice and several more chicken and vegetarian dishes. For dessert, I had a few Gulab Jamuns, which are milk and cheese balls, fried and soaked in syrup. Add that to a scoop of mango ice cream and rice pudding, and I left stuffed.

Two more good signs about this new place: not only was it crowded for lunch, half the diners were of Indian descent, which can only be a good indicator of its authenticity. And the servers were attentive and friendly, refilling water, clearing plates and constantly bringing out more food.

I look forward to returning to Indian Rasoi for lunch and dinner. Definitely make this new place a regular stop on your ethnic food circuit.