Kevin C.
Yelp
NaanStop is fast food Indian similar in operations to Chipotle or Moe's in that customers stand in line, can order and customize their meals by selecting various items, and watch the employees create the meal. They can choose a base (rice bowl, naan wrap or salad), two proteins out of eight available (including some that are gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and/or halal), any or all of the four toppings and any or all of the four sauces that vary in levels of spiciness.
Parking is easy to get in the large and shared parking lot behind NaanStop. Entrance to the restaurant faces Piedmont Road. There are also a few parking spaces in front of the restaurant. Customers walk right past the outdoor dining area before they go inside the restaurant to order their food. The dining areas (both inside and outside) were clean when I visited for a late lunch on a weekday. The food line and the beverage area were not the cleanest. The employee who took my order and created my bowl was very knowledgeable, kind, courteous, patient and extremely helpful with me because I had a lot of questions for her. It's a good thing that no other customers were in line while I asked her all of my questions and tried to make up my mind. In the end, I decided on the Most Popular (that's actually what it's called) which included Chicken Tikka Masala. With this bowl, I got the rice, and corn salad, grilled onions and peppers, and spicy cabbage slaw as my toppings. I asked for all of the sauces (they were in small takeout sauce cups) so that I could decide which one(s) I liked. In addition to my bowl, I ordered a classic samosa and a drink.
I loved the drink mixture that I made with mostly unsweetened ice tea, some lemonade and a splash of sweet tea. It was a great combination of flavors and so refreshing. The vegetables in the bowl were pretty good. Both the chicken tikka masala and the samosa fell flat, though, because they lacked flavor. The chicken tikka masala had a nice spice level. The texture of the chicken and the masala sauce were good. It leaned so much on the bland side that it wasn't enjoyable. The samosa was big. However, this, too, lacked flavor, and I had to dress it up with sauces. I liked the mint sauce the most. I felt that the samosa wasn't fully fried throughout, because the outer layer was crispy, but the fried wrap got chewy once I got past the outer layer and got to where the wrap was scrunched/pinched together to keep all of the ingredients inside intact. For what I got, I felt that the prices were too high, since I could easily get better quality and flavorful food for the same overall price elsewhere.