HIT SINGLES

Where to find the best Belgian waffle? A magnificent mole verde? To-die-for dim sum? Times restaurant reviewers Linda Burum, Michelle Huneven, Jonathan Gold, Max Jacobson and S. Irene Virbila give their favorite platters a spin.

If you’ve been to one Indian restaurant, you’ve been to ‘em all, right? Wrong. Surma Gate stands out among Southland eateries, cooking with a distinctly East Indian flair. Bengalis prize the flat fish called pomfret, but the exquisite fish curry served here is made with Pacific salmon. It’s a hearty stew flavored with mustard oil and redolent of tomato, onion and pungent spices. You may never eat tandoori chicken again.

Surma Gate, 14611 1/2 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; (818) 788-9888. Fish curry, $10.