Community Spotlight: Sherpa House

On the corner of 16th Street and Washington Avenue, there is a colorful restaurant called Sherpa House. Sherpa House, as the name implies, specializes in Nepalese cuisine. They also serve Himalayan, Tibetan, and Indian food.

Every Monday through Saturday from 11:00 AM – 2:30 PM, Sherpa House puts out a lunch buffet, which students can eat from at a 20% discount with a valid ID. In addition to their lunch buffet, they have a menu that includes dishes from Chicken Tikka to Thukpa, a noodle soup. Dinner is served from 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM, and includes the same menu as lunch.

Sherpa house also has a kids’ menu and a delicious dessert menu that includes Gulab Jamun, rosewater-soaked sweet bread balls. Of course, a Himalayan meal would not be complete without a cup of chai, a spicy tea made with milk and sugar.

One of the more interesting things about Sherpa House is that the owner, Lhakpa Sherpa, went on a humanitarian trip to Nepal in May 2011 accompanied by a group of Mines students. The group partnered with the Invictus Initiative, a non-profit organization founded by a Mines alumnus, David Pesek.

The trip, called “Hike for Help,” was centered on rebuilding the trail leading to Mt. Everest hiked by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. The group spent 15 days in the Solukhumbu region of Nepal and Kathmandu building the trail, getting the locals involved too.

With their vibrant prayer flags, inviting aromas, and comforting chai, Sherpa House is worth the short walk from campus to 16th and Washington.