Archive for 'Indian'

Go Vegetarian At Benares For A Lunchtime Indian Feast At DL Prices

The Indian food options for $10 or less within Downtown Lunch boundaries are often relegated to steam table spots frequented by cab drivers or quick service spots focusing on dishes like kati rolls or dosa. We even have an Indian version of Chipotle!

Sometimes, you want a little more class than can be found at a place with a sneeze guard where your food is served on a styrofoam plate.

A branch of Midtown’s Benares opened on Murray St. (btw. Church & W. Broadway) and they happen to have three lunch specials for $9.95 or $8.95. The cheapest takeout (or delivery) lunch option contains no meat, but they’ll give you enough food that you won’t even miss it.

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A-Pou’s Taste Cart Now Offers A Mash Up Of Taiwanese And Indian Lunches

After a streak of offering nothing but Taiwanese potstickers, the A-Pou’s Taste cart at Liberty St. & Broadway has been on something of a streak of adding non-dumpling dishes to the menu. Not that any of us got sick of those delicious, crisp-bottomed dumplings, but maybe they got sick of cooking nothing but them?

To my surprise, when I stopped by the other day to investigate a sign announcing a new chicken curry dish, there were two Indian men working at the cart instead of a tiny Taiwanese woman. The man – who informed me he was Bangladeshi – got super excited when I ordered the chicken curry, proclaiming it his favorite dish. It turns out he should be proud of this Indian curry served alongside Taiwanese dumplings and Chinese spaghettiRead more »

Saffron Fresh Indian Is A Classier Steam Table Lunch Option

There is a cluster of steam table Indian restaurants in lower Tribeca that seem to cater to office workers in a hurry and cab drivers. They are mostly utilitarian with a few tables and chairs, and have probably not had updates to the interior in a while. Even from the outside, Saffron Fresh Indian, which recently opened on Chambers St. (btw. Broadway & Church), looks a little brighter and inviting than those nearby on Church St. like Pakistan Tea House, Bangal Curry and New Shezan. There’s a lunch special, or you can do as I did and order off the menu. It’s pretty easy to stay below the $10 mark here.

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Get Your Indian Pizza At The Whole Foods Dosateria

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Those of you working in Battery Park City or the farther reaches of Tribeca don’t have the best Indian food options unless you want to pay upwards of $10. Even then, you’re often limited to the usual chicken tikka or chana masala with rice or naan, whether it’s from an actual restaurant or one of the steam table outfits like Pakistan Tea House or Bangal Curry.

I’m not sure about you, but I’ve really gotten behind the Cafe Spice Dosateria at the Whole Foods on Greenwich (btw. Warren & Murray). Not only do they make whatever you order from scratch, but I feel like the quality is better than at some of the nearby places. And they have Indian pizza!

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Desi Chef Truck Does Fried Seafood Justice With Its Fish Curry (And Adds Kati Rolls!)

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I’ve found my new cheap go-to source of Indian food in the Financial District. I decided to revisit what’s now the Desi Chef On Wheels truck (initially called Desi Food On Wheels) and I was so glad I did. Yes, the food comes off of a steam table, but the women who serve it are so nice and the food I’ve tasted has been so nicely flavored that I just want to keep going back again and again. The truck’s offerings lean heavily in the vegetarian direction, and while I loved the daal I had on my first visit, the fish curry I tried on the second visit was tasty and equally cheap.

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Trying The Namesake Dish At NY Express Biryani Cart

There is no limit to the love for a good plate of biryani from a cart, apparently, as several new carts have popped up all over the Financial District lately. One of the latest, NY Express Biryani, made the ballsy move to set up shop right across the street from the Biryani House Cart on William St. (at John). As the weeks went by, I saw the line grow at NY Express and decided it was time to check it out. The menu is fairly broad, including kati rolls, biryani, the usual meats over rice and falafel, and because I’m indecisive I opted to start with the dish the cart is named after.

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First Look: South Indian Food At Whole Foods’ New Dosateria

Yesterday was the opening of the rebranded Genji counter inside of Whole Foods Tribeca on Greenwich St. (at Warren) as a Dosateria and Lassi Bar in a first-ever collaboration with Cafe Spice. It turns out the restaurant is more of a split-space now with Japanese food still being made on one side and the rest of the space being used to make Indian dosas, uttapams and Bombay Frankies. You can also get a variety of lassis, or yogurt drinks, some sauces and salads and desserts like gulab jamun from a grab and go case. There were some people standing around to answer questions on ordering (and the ever popular “What’s a dosa?) and I got in the short line to procure some food. My take on what I was served, and why you may want to go vegetarian for lunch here, straight ahead.

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