BY JACOB PALMER | OB DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Power Lunch at Swagat in Hillsboro.
BY JACOB PALMER | OB DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
PHOTOS BY MEGHAN NOLT | OB PHOTO INTERN
Hillsboro Swagat
1340 NE Orenco Station Parkway
Hillsboro, OR 97124
(503) 844-3838
Owner: Srimanth Chinnam
Atmosphere: Lots of hustle and bustle. “Everyone wants to eat between 11:15 a.m. and 1 p.m.,” Chinnam says. “Accommodating all those people at the same time can be a challenge.”
Clientele: Intel techies, businesspeople, retirees
Most popular: Tandoori chicken, mughlai curry, goat curry, dal makhani, naan
Best seat in the house: Closest to buffet
Brag factor: 15 to 20 items available for less than $10
One of three: Chinnam owns Swagat restaurants in Beaverton and Northwest Portland. He opened the Hillsboro location two years ago because “a lot of Indian people, high-tech people, working there couldn’t come to Beaverton during their lunch breaks.”
Overheard: A mystifying tech joke — “can’t use Wi-Fi anymore, so we’re all using 3G” — elicited uproarious laughter from a group of software developers. A man sitting at a table full of Intel badges announced his recent engagement, a fellow diner opined: “That’s how it is in America — you get her pregnant, you have to marry her.”
Tales from Christy Lewis, daytime manager: When Hillsboro experienced a power outage a few years ago, Swagat stayed open, allowing patrons to eat by the light of the gas burners underneath the buffet servers. “The other places in town had to close, but we were able to feed everyone. They just couldn’t go to the bathroom.”
Critic’s corner: Buffet area can be difficult to maneuver during peak hours.
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