Indus Express is Like an Indian Version of a Midtown Deli
My hatred of the generic Midtown deli is no secret to anybody who reads this blog, but what may surprise you is that it has nothing to do with the concept. The concept is actually pretty great. Variety. Cheapness. Speed. Convenience. Did I mention variety? Plus, it has the “by the lb. buffet”, which to me is like cocaine you buy off a dealer you don’t really know: satisfying on so many different levels, but more expensive than you expected, and lord knows what ends up in it before it reaches your hands.
What I can’t stand about generic delis is the mediocre food. It can be explained in this easy to understand math formula:
A massive amount of office workers in a small space + laziness = Tons of Generic Midtown Delis with crappy food.
The incentive to make good food is gone when your customer base is built in. Put that same generic deli in a location where people will actually have to drag their asses a few blocks- and these businesses would inevitably fail. The owners of Indus Valley, a Zagat Rated (23) Indian Restaurant on 100th & Broadway, have set out to change all that by taking over half of the City Market Cafe on 48th St. btw. 5+6th, and replacing all the generic Midtown deli items, with Indian food. Instead of roast beef and mac & cheese, you get Chicken Tikka Masala & Saag Paneer. The soup station has been replaced with a samosa and pakora center, and possibly the biggest improvement, boring deli sandwiches, swapped out for kati rolls & naan wraps. It’s the kind of ingenuity you love to see in the Midtown Lunch’ing landscape, giving rise to a hybrid that could only exist here. The Generic Midtown Indian Deli.
What they’ve got, and whether or not it’s better than Minar, Kati Roll, the Chapati Roll Cart and Utsav, after the jump… Read more »
Posted by Zach Brooks at 10:28 am, March 10th, 2008 under 48th btw 5+6th, Indian, Indus Express.
A little over a month ago I started a new category of post called “You Decide”. The thinking was, sometimes I find places where the menu is just too long to try everything, and rather then give an incomplete write up (negative or positive), I would turn it over to you, the Midtown Luncher’s. First to the 
What kind of price do you put on having a fun meal? It’s not a new question. For example, are you willing to pay $50 to eat mediocre roast chicken with your hands? That doesn’t sound like a good deal. What if there are grown men jousting in the middle of the restaurant? Hello! Or perhaps you’d like some chicken and steak stir fry for $30? I can get that for $7 at any food court. What if a “Japanese” guy named “Jimmy” prepares and cooks the food right in front of you, throwing the shrimp tails into his giant chef’s hat? Now that sound likes fun!
In the end Sakae Sushi is no different then Medieval Times or Benihana. They’re asking how much extra are you willing to pay for sushi when it moves around the restaurant on little colored plates. Not enough fun? Let’s throw in computerized ordering! This sounds awesome. I love conveyor belt sushi! And, I also love weird rolls. And mayo. And I don’t have to know what I’m eating to eat it. And that’s what Sakae is all about. If you like crazy rolls that pair fried stuff with cooked stuff, topped with raw stuff and smothered in some mayo based sauce, then you’re golden.
Midtown is too much ground for one man to cover, so comments, suggestions and emails are always welcome. Most “discoveries” I make come from suggestions, and the comments are always a great place to see where other people are eating. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. When I was having chest pains last week, I attributed it to my “work” here on Midtown Lunch and decided to take a salad suggestion from a commenter, only to find another lame, generic deli, not worth the walk out of my way. The next day the doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my heart, and that I probably only had the death plague that’s been circulating around New York City (she didn’t use those words exactly…) Thankfully, I didn’t have to try out any more salad suggestions.
Yesterday it worked out a little better when I checked out the Homefront Deli on 41st btw. Park+Madison, which was mentioned awhile back as a good place for a hot pastrami sandwich. Expecting a soup, sandwich and salad bar deli, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a hole in the wall sandwich place, with more similarities to 
Last February I wrote about 
There is a long line of pre-made bentos along the right wall, or you can go up to the front and order your food fresh off a menu, that includes an assortment of Korean meat dishes, a few stews, and Korean style ramen soups. The new-found popularity has created turnover that insures a much fresher bento then a year ago, and the selection is great.