First Look At Hot Clay Oven: The Love Of Free Food Knows No Temperature Bounds
If you were outside yesterday then you know there were sub-freezing temperatures ahead of the snow, but that didn’t stop you lunch’ers from freeloading! When I got to Hot Clay Oven on Maiden Lane (at Pearl) at about 12:45 p.m. the line was nearly to the end of the block. It later grew longer as people walking by couldn’t resist the siren song of free food. After about a 30 minute wait outside, I got inside only to wait 30 more minutes to order my food. This wasn’t because of a lack of organization, but partly because people cut the line and partly because of the sheer number of people waiting. See what I scored for my patience after the jump.
The space is smaller than I thought it would be, and there’s not a ton of seating. I’m guessing they’ll put more tables and chairs in to the right of the counter but for the preview day that space was reserved for the snaking line of people. I talked to the owner, Vic, while waiting in line and he said that this is the first of four locations he hopes to open around the city including the next ones in midtown and somewhere in the Village.
I had plenty of time to contemplate what I would order from the menu, which was good because there are a ton of different options from the “vehicle” of your lunch like a naan wrap, salad or rice bowl (all $7.58). After watching the guys making naan behind a wall of glass I decided that looked like the way to go.
There are several different meat options and a couple of vegetarian ones like channa masala and paneer but I had been eyeing the beef kabob that was also being cooked in the tandoor. That’s when things got a little crazy. The workers behind the (extremely high!) counter had a panicked look in their eyes as I tried to figure out which of a million different toppings to get. And in an effort to not hold up the line, that was how I ended up with a beef kabob topped with peppers and onions, some chickpeas, tomatoes and then both hot red chutney and tamarind sauces. I agree with lunch’er estarriolevitch who said it was hard to choose sauces without being able to taste them.
This was what the finished product looked like. It was kind of like a giant middle eastern puffy taco, but a tasty one. A word of warning that the hot chutney will indeed set your mouth on fire, and that is coming from someone who loves spicy food. Luckily the piece of naan I got was of sound construction and didn’t have any holes in it, but I could see how there might be some issues if you get a saucy filling like the channa masala or pork vindaloo.
I’m interested in some of the other menu options like the soups ($4.14) and jalapeno naan ($2.53). They also serve alcohol, meaning you can get some rose water spiked with booze, or just drink a Corona during your lunch hour. Or there’s always a mango lassi ($3.45).
There’s no more free food, but you can get half off the menu starting at 11 a.m. today and tomorrow. The store is officially open on Friday with regular prices so get your cheap food while you can.
Hot Clay Oven, 101 Maiden Lane (at Pearl), (212) 269-2103
Posted by Andrea H at 9:30 am, January 12th, 2011 under Financial District, Hot Clay Oven, Indian.
9 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
ADVERTISEMENT
If anyone goes on the early side today (i.e. before 1pm), can you report back on the line? Would love to try this today.