Midtown Lunch

I don’t know about all of you, but normally when I want Indian food I don’t head to a place that’s a transplant from Long Island and touts how healthy its food is. In Soho the options are somewhat limited for Indian food options at ML prices (other than Lahore Deli), and Hampton Chutney Co. on Prince St. (btw. Crosby & Lafayette) is also one of the only places nearby that serves dosa. I was a little leery that the attempt at making my food healthy would sacrifice flavor, but I headed there anyway to see if it was Downtown Lunch worthy.

Beware that if you go during prime lunch time the place is going to be packed. I had to hover for a little bit in order to snag a seat, but around 1 p.m. it emptied out a little. In other words it may not be the best place to have a nice leisurely lunch unless you want a bunch of people holding trays of food glaring at you.

The menu board lists several different varieties of dosa and uttapam as well as some sandwiches. If you want meat in your lunch, you’re going to pay more than $10, but if you go vegetarian or get the thali you can get out of there for less. That’s the route I went because I’m selectively vegetarian if it means paying less money.

I ordered the classic masala dosa that’s full of spicy potatoes. There’s a similar version with jack cheese and spinach, but it was $3 more than the classic version! You get to choose a chutney to go with it, and while I later noticed everyone else seemed to get the cilantro version I went with peanut. It made a good dip for the bits of dosa that didn’t have filling in them.

The bright yellow potato filling did have some heat to it, but nothing that most people couldn’t handle. It wasn’t dry at all, but also not full of oil, and the one-two punch of the dosa and potato left me full for much of the rest of the afternoon. I guess it was nice to not eat a greasy gut bomb for lunch (for once), and I consider paying $8 for a decent lunch in Soho a win.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• It’s on the cheap end of lunch places in the neighborhood.
• They try to make me eat healthy while feeding me Indian food.

THE — (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• You have to strategize to get seats during prime lunch time.
• I want to eat meat with my lunch and don’t want to pay more than $10 for the privilege.

Hampton Chutney Co., 68 Prince St. (btw. Crosby & Lafayette), (212) 226-9996