Midtown Lunch

Rupa’s Special bhelpuri from Taj Delhi Chat

Today’s Village Voice features a piece on where to find the best chaat in New York, and three of the four choices are Midtown Lunch mainstays: Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th), Sukhadia’s Gokul (on 45th btw. 5+6th), and of course, Khodiar Express (aka Taj Delhi Chat), the Indian food in the former newsstand on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th.  I knew it was only a matter of time before that last one got discovered by the “real” NYC food media… if you haven’t been, you really need to hit it up.

Related
A Guide to the Best Indian Street Food in Midtown: Translating the Menu at Taj Delhi Chat
Snapshots: For Those About to Chaat…

Today is Diwali, a major holiday celebrated by Indian people of all faiths, and many of the Indian restaurants in Midtown are rolling out the big guns.  Prices will stay the same, but Spice Fusion (on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th) says their buffet will be “more elaborate” today and Touch of India (on 37th btw. 7+8th) has said they will have special items on their buffet, like biryani. (Sukhadia, on 45th is doing nothing special and Curry Dream didn’t even know it was Diwali.)

Kashmir, the Indian place on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th was closed by the DOH, and their creativity had me almost believing they actually were just “Closed For Renovations.”  The first tactic they used is nothing new… they pulled the gate down half way, covering up the DOH sticker that was put on their take out by the lb buffet shop that is above ground.  But their cover up on the actual downstairs restaurant, was something I’d never seen before.  Check it out after the jump…

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Spice Fusion (the Indian buffet on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th) used to have a big blow up of the Midtown Lunch post hanging in front of their restaurant. Not anymore. It probably has to do with the headline, where I claimed that Spice Fusion had perfected the “Under $10 Indian All You Can Eat Buffet”. Like most of the Indian buffets in Midtown, Spice Fusion raised their price at the beginning of the year. But is it worth the extra buck? (As you know, I will break my $10 rule for all you can eat buffets.)

I used this silly reasoning as an excuse decided to buffet it up on Friday to “check it out”.  Read more »

I guess the newsstand on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th isn’t the only weird combo in Midtown. Sarah DiGregorio from the Village Voice ate at this “Indian-Pakistani-Spanish-American restaurant” on 33rd btw. 6+7th. The one downside?  All the food is halal, so it’s missing “the porky dishes that you’d find at any other Spanish lunch counter.”

I walked by Curry Dream Indian Buffet on 39th btw. 5+6th the other day, and noticed something interesting:  it was kind of packed.  I guess this wouldn’t be such a huge surprise, unless you knew a little bit about Curry Dream. I first wrote about this place in March of 2007, back when it was still one of the only under $10 Indian buffets in Midtown (they’ve since raised their prices.)  It was ok for the price, but nothing I would have traveled far out of my way for.  One commenter wrote that the restaurant might be a little dirty (roaches were mentioned, but this is all heresay).  Despite the comments, the restaurant still quoted Midtown Lunch (sort of) in their newspaper ad.  Very exciting stuff.

Needless to say, I haven’t been back since- and most of the time the place seemed fairly empty… that is until last week.  I walked by during lunch and it was pretty hopping, despite the fact that they raised the price of the buffet at the beginning of the year.  This could mean a few things: A) I’m on crack.  The place was always crowded, I just didn’t notice.  B) It has gotten a lot better since I first visited a year and a half ago.  Or C) people love paying more for things.  Could it be that a higher price buffet gives people a greater sense of security that their food is clean?  What do you think?  Has anybody been lately?

It’s been a while since I buffeted it up at lunchtime in Midtown.  When I first started this blog, there were quite a few buffets that fell under the Midtown Lunch price range.  There was Rangole on 46th btw. 5+6th (now closed), Al Baraka Turkish Buffet on 55th btw. Lex+3rd (now called Kannaat), Arang in Koreatown (they stopped doing buffet), Chinese Midtown Buffet on 7th btw. 39+40th, International Food House latin buffet on 35th btw. 7+8th) and Curry Dream on 39th btw. 5+6th.  I made an exception for the $10.99 vegetarian Indian buffet Sukhadia on 45th btw. 5+6th,  and Spice Fusion became my favorite buffet in Midtown when they opened last year on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th. Since that time, almost every one of these buffets have either closed or raised their prices, leaving West Tandoori Club on 37th btw. 7+8th, the last remaining under $10 Indian buffet in Midtown.

Last month, when the W.T.C. closed for “renovations,” I figured that was it.  Even if they re-opened as a buffet, it’s not going to remain under $10.  So imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago, West Tandoori Club re-opened as “Touch of India” with an $8.95 lunch buffet.   Last friday, I headed over to check it out…  Read more »

It may not actually be on the street, but don’t be fooled- Taj Delhi Chat, in the newsttand that’s been converted into a Midtown Lunch’ers paradise, is the best Indian street food in Midtown.  I’ll admit, before Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th) and Taj Delhi Chat opened, I didn’t really even know what chat (or chaat) was.  I was quickly schooled by more knowledgeable Midtown Lunch’ers, who graciously donated their food porn to the cause.  

For those who are still in the dark, chaat is actually just a generic term for a savory Indian snack, usually sold on the street, and consisting of cumin, amchur (mango powder), red chilies often mixed with some fried snack in combination with any of the following – potatoes, onions, tomatoes, yogurt, tamarind chutney, cilantro, cilantro chutney, and mint chutney. The “fried snacks” that get mixed in can be samosas or pakoras (both well known here in the states) or more commonly, papri (flat, round cracker looking things), bhel (puffed rice crispy looking things) or sev (the little crunchy noodle looking things.)

There is some tasty looking chaat at Indus Express, but reviews have been mixed.  For the best in Midtown (and possibly all of New York City), you’ll want to hit up Taj Delhi Chat.  When I went, I brought along my friend Chandrika to translate the menu for me (and conversely all of you).  What we got, plus a full translated menu, after the jump…  Read more »

Two of the better Indian lunches in Midtown have undergone some changes…  Indus Express (on 48th btw. 5+6th) known for their giant version of the Kati Roll, has gotten rid of their salad bar- the lone holdover from City Market Cafe, the generic deli that originally occupied the space.  They’ve added more seating in that space, plus a small table filled with Indian snacks that are now for sale.

But the real big changes have been happening at Khodiar Express, the vegetarian food inside the former Newsstand on 6th Ave. btw. 37+38th.  See if you can follow this… the Gujarati Indian food, which used to be in the back left hand corner, has moved to the front, right next to Taj Delhi Chat  which opened along the right hand wall two months ago.  The latin food, which moved from the now closed Blimpie next door, to the back right hand corner of the “newsstand”, has also moved to the right hand wall.  And finally, between the two, a Middle Eastern steam table has opened up, serving Israeli style falafel.

Got that all?  If not, there are semi-helpful photos after the jump…  Read more »

The West Tandoori Club (on 37th btw. 7+8th), which closed for renovations over a month ago, has re-opened as Touch of India.  Gone is the dingy atmosphere, and take out counter in the back- replaced with a nice (but by no means well designed) atmosphere that is typical of these kinds of Midtown restaurants.  Thankfully they still offer the all you can eat buffet, and shockingly it’s still under $10 (making it one of the very few left in Midtown.)

Interior buffet shots, after the jump…  Read more »