Midtown Lunch

When Saffron Thread Indian opened on Chambers St. (btw. Broadway & Church St.) they touted their kati-type rolls, and they were indeed delicious and filling. The thing most people order here is the $9 lunch combo, and as I discovered you get a boat load of flavorful food for the price.

You get two vegetable and one meat dish, chosen from the steam table at the front of the restaurant. Not only that, but you get both basmati rice and a gigantic naan that outsized the paper plate it sat on.

My selections (clockwise from bottom) were alu baingan (potato and eggplant), chicken kadai (chicken with onions and green pepper) and channa masala. There was a good selection of dishes to choose from, whether you’re vegetarian or not, including chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, vegetable jalfrazie, and keema matar.

The first thing I noticed after sampling the eggplant and chicken dishes was that the cooks did not shy away from the spice here, which I appreciate. The channa masala had a lot of flavor but wasn’t spicy, if you’re looking for a milder dish. I also liked the naan that was cooked to order, and I’m happy to say I was too full to finish both the bread and rice. You could definitely get two meals out of this lunch special. While there wasn’t any lamb on the steam table, if you don’t mind eating chicken and vegetable dishes for lunch you’ll be pretty happy with the situation at Saffron Thread.

Also of note: the restaurant added some Indian-Chinese dishes including hakka noodles, chili gobi and lollipop chicken. Most of the dishes are more than $10 and not on the lunch buffet, but I don’t think any other Indian restaurant downtown serves these hybrid dishes.

A Saffron Thread Indian, 98 Chambers St. (btw. Broadway & Church St.), (212) 676-0313