Popular Indian Restaurant to Open

                      Popular Virginia Beach Indian Restaurant to 

First Peninsula Location in Hampton’s Peninsula Town Center

“Monsoon” Will Fill Space Vacated by Frank Beamer’s American Grill

            Hampton, Va. – With a good percentage of his clientele already coming over from the Peninsula, it just made sense for Darshak Patel and his wife Dharti to find a place on the northside of Hampton Roads to locate their second restaurant. The owners of Saffron Indian Bistro at Virginia Beach Town Center have found the perfect location at Peninsula Town Center in Hampton.

            Because the new establishment will have a different décor and some additional menu items, the Patels are giving the restaurant its own name:  Monsoon, Eclectic Modern Indian. “People who like what we serve in Virginia Beach will find what they love at Monsoon plus some other offerings that have a very modern twist,” says Mr. Patel. “The 5,000 square feet of space that is now available at Peninsula Town Center is just right, and we think being with a number of other quality restaurants there will help us be as successful as we have been in Virginia Beach.”

            Monsoon, like Saffron, will feature a variety of moderately priced meat and vegetarian dishes. According to reviewer Holly Van Auken of The Virginian Pilot, “the achari beef, described as beef cooked in authentic Indian herb and pickle sauce, was pleasantly tangy and as tender as any crockpot meat I've ever had, but our favorite dish was the chicken-e-bahar, chicken pieces simmered in a creamy sauce of cilantro and cashew paste… My untrained Western palate couldn't distinguish all the flavors, but it was delish.”

            According to Patel and Wikipedia, the term “monsoon” was first “used in English in British India (now India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) and neighboring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the area.” That season is June through September.  Monsoon rains, according to Wikipedia “account for 80% of the rainfall in India. Indian agriculture (which accounts for 25% of the GDP and employs 70% of the population) is heavily dependent on the rains, for growing crops like cotton, rice, oilseeds and coarse grains. A delay of a few days in the arrival of the monsoon can badly affect the economy.”

            The Patels hope to open Monsoon, Eclectic Modern Indian at Peninsula Town Center by late March or early April 2012. “In this case, monsoon season will happen in the spring in Hampton,” says Patel.

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About Peninsula Town Center

Peninsula Town Center features over 60 specialty stores and restaurants and is the largest redevelopment project in the history of Hampton. Additional tenants continue to open at the 1.1-million square foot mixed-use center, which also includes luxury office space and award-winning residences, The Chapman Apartments. For more information, including a directory map and complete listing of stores and events, visit www.peninsulatowncenter.com.