For five years, Ram Diya kept an eye on the former Subway storefront on W45th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues. Then, when the sandwich chain finally vacated the narrow space, he made his move.
Chef Chirag Kaler and owner Ram Diya at Chai Samosa. Photo: Steve Hill
Now the location has been reborn as Chai Samosa Grab N Go — a compact Indian café serving samosas, curries, chaat and steaming cups of Indian tea to a growing mix of neighborhood residents and taxi drivers looking for a taste of home.
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Steve Hill shoots New York the way most of us actually experience it — messy, layered, a little contradictory, and rarely postcard-perfect. His photos skip the clichés and lean into the in-between moments: the faces in passing, the grit under the gloss, the small flashes that make the city feel human.
Before picking up the camera full time, Hill spent two decades in some of New York’s top kitchens after training at the École Culinaire du Cordon Bleu in Paris — a background that shows up in the patience and precision of his work. His images have appeared everywhere from The New York Times to New York Magazine, but the focus stays local: real people, real streets, real moments.
He lives and works right here in Hell’s Kitchen.