Midtown Lunch » Kashmir

DOH Declares Times Restaurant “Imminently Perilous”

Chris H. — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:45:58 +0000

It is with a heavy heart that I report that the endearingly eccentric Times Restaurant has finally shuttered, for what appears to be for good. Walking by, I noticed a court order signed on 6/2/2011 commanding that the space be shutdown, with an ominous warning, “The department of buildings has determined that conditions in this premises are imminently perilous to life. Violators of this commissioner’s vacate order are subject to arrest.”

I’ll dearly miss this place, not that I’ve ever had the courage to actually eat there, but because they’ve always been a source of fun, slapstick content whenever we noticed another misguided effort to stay in business or another DOH smackdown. As we say farewell to the Times Restaurant, we’ve assembled a timeline of our favorite memories of the life and times of this restaurant after the jump.

February 2008 – The Times restaurant, (fka Kashmir Express) is discovered by Zach Brooks. At that time, they were offering an 24 hour, AYCE Indian buffet for $9.95, or a take-out by-the-pound option for only $4.99/lb.

December 2008 – The downstairs buffet is re-named “Cave Lounge”, and the buffet is replaced by a pool table and some funky looking decor.

May 2009 – They lower the buffet price to $7.95, prompting Zach Brooks to pay a visit for lunch, where he finds the food to actually be pretty good, although the service is terrible and the experience itself to be a little scary. I’m happy to report that 2 years after this lunch, Zach is still alive and (somewhat) well.

November 2009 – Kashmir, perhaps hoping to class up their image, looks to the Grey Lady for inspiration, and changes their name to “Times”. They even complete the re-branding by copying the New York Times font, which of course leads to…

May 2010 – … a cease and desist letter from the New York Times Company.

March 2011 – Jeremiah discovers that The Times restaurant has swapped its Indian menu for Mexican food. Perhaps hoping to draw in customers from the neighboring peep shows and adult stores along 8th ave, they also attempt to lure customers in with racy advertising, asking potential punters to, “Come meet the sexiest girls in New York”.

June 2011 – The Times restaurant is shut down, perhaps for good, by court order.

Although this isn’t the first time they’ve closed, after all of those DOH warnings, it seems like they’ve been boiling the frog all this time, and the court order may be the final death blow. I’ll certainly miss hearing about The Times restaurant, but we shouldn’t be sad, for we should remember their zany hijinks and utter disregard for DOH rules with fondness. And with that, we say a bittersweet hasta luego to the Times Restaurant.

Times Restaurant Is Now a Mexican Hooters?

Jeremiah White — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:30:20 +0000

The downstairs Times Restaurant (8th Ave btw. 39+40) has endured near constant change over the last few years: name changes, wildly fluctuating buffet prices, DOH imposed downtime. Through all of that, Times has been some kind of Indian restaurant, much like the upstairs Kashmir Grill it used to share a name with. But now Times Restaurant is offering “traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex food.” It looks like it’s still a sit-down place, but there are a few ML friendly lunch items, like tacos and sandwiches. Perhaps more exciting is the fact that it may also be some sort of Mexican Hooters…

These are the fliers that they have spread over the table in their doorway. My 9 years of Spanish (yes, really) aren’t doing me much good here but they’ve got to be advertising scantily clad waitresses, lap dances or some sort of special fiesta, right? Can you confirm, Mamacita? Regardless, this is a decidedly different tack than the Indian Times ever used, so maybe Mexican Times is here to stay.

Times Restaurant & Bar, 601 8th Ave (btw 39+40th), (212) 594-2965

Kashmir Grill Now Selling a $1 Burger

Jeremiah White — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:30:12 +0000

When walking by Kashmir Grill on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40, I noticed that they are now serving a $1 burger (how could I not notice? Look at all those signs!). Let’s face it, you can get a slice of pizza for $1 anywhere in Midtown these days. But a $1 burger? That’s uncharted territory. Apparently Kashmir thought they had to do something drastic after my less-than-enthusiastic write up a couple of weeks ago. It’s a little too soon for me to set foot back in that place, but if anyone is brave enough (and cheap enough) to try this Dollar Burger, please let us know how it goes.

Taking One For the Team at Kashmir Grill

Jeremiah White — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:45:13 +0000

The Kashmir Grill (8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) has had a tumultuous last few years. It used to be a by the pound buffet. Then it was shut down by the DOH. Meanwhile, their downstairs all you can eat buffet became The Times Buffet and may or may not still be associated with their upstairs neighbor. All that is history though. Late last year, Kashmir Grill ditched the pay what it weighs buffet and reopened as a take out place with Indian food that looked largely the same as the original. Now that it seems to have settled into this role, I thought it was high time Midtown Lunch weighed in.

Kashmir Grill has lots of items that you will see at similar restaurants and carts. The chicken biryani, curries, samosas, kati rolls and, of course, chicken and rice. All the dishes that come with rice are around $6-7, and their “kabab dog,” which appears to be a kebab served in a bun like a hot dog, is certainly intriguing (and the price is right at $.99). But I decided to go with the kabab roll.

The kabab roll is two ground chicken kababs with lettuce and raw onions, topped with white sauce and hot sauce and all rolled up in a piece of grilled pita bread. It was made to order, unlike the pre-made ones behind glass Zach saw last October. At $3.99 and almost big enough to constitute an entire lunch this seems like a pretty good deal… but how does it taste?

Well, first of all, I found a hair attached to the outer wrapper of my kabab roll. On the tin foil. It wasn’t on or in any of my food, but still that’s not really what you want to see from a place that’s already been closed by the DOH. This may be my only time eating at Kashmir Grill though, and since I figured my food was safe, I soldiered on (you’re welcome).

The rest of my kabab roll was much less eventful, between bland chicken kababs and sauces that didn’t add much. The grilled pita was pretty good though. Overall the sandwich was forgettable, but I suppose if you are in the area it might do in a pinch.

I also tried their grilled spinach wrap- spinach, onions and spices wrapped in chapati. Unlike my kabab roll, this was already made sitting behind glass and just got thrown on the grill for a minute. Again, it was nothing special. It certainly wasn’t bad, and if I’d had some sauces to dip it in or something, it might have actually been quite enjoyable. At $1.99, it kept my lunch pretty cheap though and I left full.

I’ve only tried a small sampling of Kashmir Grill’s menu. The prices are good, and I’d love to discover a hidden gem on their menu (the tikka roll perhaps?), but at this rate I don’t think I want to bother hunting for it. Of course that all could change the next time I’m hungry and happen to be passing by.

Kashmir Grill, 601 8th Ave. (btw. 39+40th), 212-594-3777

NYT Sends Cease & Desist to Times Restaurant

Zach Brooks — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:30:29 +0000

Don’t know how long ago this happened…. but poor Times Restaurant! If it’s not the DOH, it’s lawyers from the New York Times. Apparently their name change (font and all) didn’t go unnoticed by the big brass in the building across the street. The buffet formerly known as Kashmir (on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) received a letter asking them to change their sign, and they obliged (naturally). The whole thing is kind of hilarious if you ask us… obviously the New York Times has their customized font trademarked, and clearly “The Times Restaurant” was infringing on that trademark. But is anybody really confusing this run down Pakistani buffet with a restaurant that might possibly be affiliated with the paper of record? Doubtful. Most of us just look at the sign and laugh. The lawyers for the New York Times? Clearly not amused. Time’s Halal Food cart, you’ve been warned.

It’s not all bad news though… it looks like the buffet has been reduced to $9.95 again. Thanks to Lunch’er Adam for the photo.

Times Restaurant Closed By the DOH… Again

Zach Brooks — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:15:25 +0000

It has not been a good few days for food establishment using the “Times” moniker. The New York Times cafeteria was closed last week after a health scare, and now the Times Restaurant (on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) has been closed by the Department of Health. This is nothing new for the Indian buffet formerly known as Kashmir, they were closed by the DOH just 15 months ago. There is some positive news in all this, though. It looks like they rolled the price of the buffet back to $9.95 from the $14.95 that was reported last week!

Also as a side note, I’d also like to point out that none of the owners of the surrounding restaurants were seen celebrating this closure in any way.

Buffet Formerly Known as Kashmir Goes Insane

Zach Brooks — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:30:34 +0000

In perhaps the craziest 8th Ave. price hike of all time, the Times Restaurant (formerly known as Kashmir) has raised the price of their lunchtime buffet to $14.95!?! With the New York Times cafeteria closed yesterday for health reasons, I have no doubt the places around 8th Ave. and 40th Street will be extra crowded today. But $9 to $15 in under a year? That’s crazytown. I’d recommend walking up to 47th for Spice Fusion’s $11 buffet. [Photo and News Courtesy of The NYTPicker]

Kashmir Becomes “The Buffet of Record”?

Zach Brooks — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:30:59 +0000

The owners of the Kashmir Buffet (on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) can’t seem to make up their mind. The Pakistani/Indian buffet, which used to boast about their 30 year history on their sign, changed to The Cave (after some DOH issues), back to Kashmir, and now this… The Times Bar & Restaurant? They still offer a $10 lunch buffet, and according to a worker in Kashmir Express (the takeout spot located at street level) the food is still the same… although he admitted that Kashmir Express and “The Times” are no longer owned by the same people. No idea what any of this means, but I can’t imagine naming your restaurant after a newspaper is going to help business. Unless maybe you’re an otherwise nondescript halal cart…

Kashmir Express Reopens as the Indian Takeout Place it Always Should Have Been

Zach Brooks — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:30:47 +0000

In a surprising development, Kashmir Express (the by the pound buffet that lives above the all you can eat Kashmir Buffet on 8th btw. 39+40th) has reopened. I thought for sure that when they closed back in July that would be the end of this ill conceived take out joint, but they’ve returned like a Pakistani phoenix. Gone is the strange, and grossly unappetizing by the pound buffet that used to untouched- replaced by a standard take out counter featuring much of the same food available before (but now in proper take out form.) They also have kati rolls.

Check it out, after the jump.

The brand new interior.

The menu.

I still think the food looks a little weird behind glass. They should have just put it in a steam table behind the counter (like Minar). Oh well.

Pre made kebab rolls? Meh. I’m guessing they’ll make them fresh if you ask.

This place has been open 30 years!? Amazing.

Kashmir All You Can Eat Buffet Now $10

Zach Brooks — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:00:26 +0000

I guess the “hospitality special” is now over, because the Kashmir Buffet has raised their price from $7.99 to $9.99. At $8 this weird, borderline scary, all you can eat Pakistani buffet was a strange treat. The kind of thing I would recommend everybody try just once (just to prove how much of a Midtown Lunch’ing badass you really are.) At $10, it’s much less attractive- especially with the far less scary Spice Fusion buffet just 10 blocks north (on 8th Ave. btw. 47+48th). You’re still a badass if you go.