08/28/2026
Hashtag India, hashtag try it
We checked out Hashtagindia Aubrey in Aubrey, Texas today, and after reading quite a few one star Google reviews that appeared to come from people who might actually know what authentic Indian food is supposed to taste like, I feel like Hashtag India deserves an apology.
Because some of those reviews have got to be turf wars, competition, or some Hatfield and McCoy level family drama.
The restaurant says authentic Indian food, and seeing as how I have never personally wandered the streets of mainland India, I'm going to have to judge authenticity based on what I can see, smell, taste and experience.
And based on what we saw?
I'd say they're doing something right.
We dined in, and during the entire 45ish minutes we were there, the place stayed busy. At times, very busy. And even when there were 20 plus customers inside, we were the only two non Indian people in the building.
Now, I'm no expert, but that seems like a pretty solid endorsement.
Then came the food.
Indian Hulk took our order, and while we were standing there staring at the help yourself breakfast bar trying to figure out exactly what some of these items were, he suggested we try some of it on the house.
Well, alrighty then.
The experience was already heading in the right direction.
We loaded up three different dipping sauces, some breaded objects that may or may not have been scientifically related to something else, something resembling grits with additional things mixed into them, and what I can only describe as Indian potato salad.
Unfortunately, I made the tactical error of trying the potato salad looking substance first.
And I'm going to be honest.
It tasted like a dirty sock that had been discovered floating somewhere inside a sanitary sewer system.
Thank my Creator I didn't stop eating after that.
Because everything else ranged from worth trying to damn good.
The sauces were different and carried a little heat, so if you're not used to Indian food, you might want to keep something cold nearby. Not painfully spicy, just enough to remind you that you aren't eating chicken nuggets.
For our main entrees, we ordered the chicken tikka masala and butter chicken.
Both were pretty amazing.
And honestly, if this is authentic Indian food, I may need to eventually go see the source material for myself.
The food was flavorful and spicy without trying to burn your face off. The naan was somehow soft and crisp at the same time, apparently breaking several laws of physics along the way.
As for the price, yeah, you're looking at around $15 per entrée, plus extra for naan and drinks.
But the serving sizes help justify it.
We usually split entrées when we eat out, and after splitting these, we still have enough leftovers to cover about two days of lunch.
So, in the end, Hashtag India deserves an apology from whoever has been out there dropping those one star bombs.
Was everything perfect?
No.
Whatever that potato salad looking substance was can stay exactly where it came from.
But overall?
Hashtag India is absolutely if you're in the Aubrey area.
We'll be back.
And yes, Indian Hulk, the largest Indian man I have ever laid eyes on, you earned another visit.
