Dhamaka continues to challenge the expectations of what Indian flavors can taste like\u2014and diners can’t seem to get enough of it.<\/p>\n
Adam FriedlanderTamarind Tribeca<\/a><\/p>\n Chef-owner Avtar Walia has been something of a trailblazer in the New York City Indian dining landscape, ever since he convinced culinary doyenne and actress Madhur Jaffrey to open Dawat in 1986 in Manhattan. Since 2001, he\u2019s been the force behind Tamarind, a Tribeca institution that revolutionized the approach to Indian fine dining in New York. The tasteful interiors are an elegant backdrop to refined dishes like lobster masala, prawn curry, and Nizami kheema. There may be no shortage of trendy new openings in the city these days, but Tamarind\u2019s staying power speaks for itself.<\/p>\n Vatan<\/a><\/p>\n I could tell you about this Murray Hill fixture, but some things just need to be seen to be believed. The Third Avenue fa\u00e7ade doesn\u2019t begin to prepare you for what lies within: My jaw hit the floor when I walked into the unexpectedly cavernous dining room modeled after a traditional Gujarati village, complete with faux trees, thatched-roof booths, murals of pastoral Indian vignettes, and a massive Ganesh statue presiding over it all. Make sure you get comfortable in your booth because you\u2019re unlikely to leave anytime soon: Vatan\u2019s prix-fixe $45 vegetarian menu is an all-you-can eat bonanza. A massive thali is regularly refreshed with samosas, sev puris, bhaji, daal, chole, and much more on demand, plus endless ice cream and gulab jamun if you make it that far. Between the endless food and the quirky interiors, this is a place you\u2019ll want to settle into for a while.<\/p>\n Dhamaka<\/a><\/p>\n Dhamaka means explosion, and that\u2019s exactly how this colorful Lower East Side<\/a> spot landed in New York in 2021. The Unapologetic Foods<\/a> takeover of New York\u2019s Indian restaurant scene may have begun with Adda (originally in Long Island City and recently transplanted to the East Village) and cemented with Semma, but it\u2019s when Dhamaka opened that I first realized that Indian food enthusiasts in the city were in the throes of a culinary zeitgeist.\u00a0 Restaurateur Roni Mazumdar and chef Chintan Pandya were the first team brazen enough to make food exactly how they wanted it, without dialing back ingredients (goat kidney and testicles, anyone?) or spice levels to cater to Western palates. The result was an instant hit with Indian diners eager for authentic flavors beyond butter chicken, and guided everyone else to push their boundaries and expectations of what Indian flavors could taste like. It may have inspired a legion of other restaurants to follow in its footsteps, but Dhamaka, with its colorful interiors and banging Bollywood soundtrack, is always a winner.<\/p>\n BrooklynLore<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure why Lore isn\u2019t one of the hardest-to-get reservations in New York, but at least that means chef Jayesh Kumar\u2019s Park Slope spot has managed to retain its neighborhood charm\u2014for now. Get there ASAP to try Kumar\u2019s inventive menu, that leans on his South Indian roots and European training (he spent decades in Switzerland before opening Lore in 2022), and like me, you\u2019ll be wondering what kind of a mad genius thought up unlikely mash-ups like roti ravioli, kimchi uttapam, and a steak au poivre with masala butter and fries. Kumar also recently launched a dosa stand at Smorgasburg, and will be opening a bar called Folk (get it?) in Park Slope later this summer\u2014with creative globally inspired cocktails and clever small plates like biryani arancini on the menu.<\/p>\n Lore in Park Slope straddles leans chef Jayesh Kumar’s South Indian roots and European training.<\/p>\n Sukhbir Channa\/Lore<\/p>\n The sea bream at Lore is coated with malabar spices and served with hot red chutney.<\/p>\n Sukhbir Channa\/LoreIndian Table<\/a><\/p>\n With its distinctive tangy flavor profiles and heady Portuguese influence, the cuisine of the tiny western state of Goa<\/a> is unlike any other in India\u2014but it can be hard to come by in the city, aside from appearances by vindaloos or the occasional poee bread on menus. But when I\u2019m missing Goa\u2019s famous susegad\u2014laid-back\u2014way of life, I make my way to Cobble Hill\u2019s Indian Table, where Goan chef Eric McCarthy guides diners through a deep dive through classics from his home state: think chicken cafreal, ros omelette, and pork sorpotel, and plenty of coastal classics like the kalchi kodi fish curry and crab cutlets. The dining room, clad in Portuguese-style tiles, is cozy, but when the weather is sultry you\u2019ll want to grab a seat on the back patio stung with fairy lights and feel transported to a veranda in Assagao.<\/p>\n QueensAngel Indian Restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to play favorites in Jackson Heights<\/a>\u2014you could eat well in this multicultural hub brimming with Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Nepali restaurants for weeks without ever going back to the same spot twice. Angel, however, merits many a return. It\u2019s been a local hit ever since it opened in 2019 (Bungalow chef Vikas Khanna is a big fan), with everything from a standout take on the all-too-familiar butter chicken to dishes like lotus root kofta that are rarer to spot on New York menus, plus plush naans you\u2019ll want to swathe yourself in. But the star here is the dum biryani\u2014in vegetarian, chicken, and goat varieties\u2014that comes shrouded beneath a crust of bread. When the server carves it open to mix the layers together and releases wisps of steam that linger over your table, that\u2019s your signal to feast.<\/p>\n Note: The space may feel a bit snug, but the owners just opened a second, sleeker location not too far away from the original.<\/p>\n Raja Sweets and Fast Food<\/a><\/p>\n Feeling snack-y? This Jackson Heights vegetarian joint is something of an institution for its dizzying array of fried treats and chaat, those textural flavor bombs that are the perfect union of savory, sweet, crunchy, and tangy. Start with some samosas and pakoras, then chase orders of sev puri, papri chaat, and aloo bhatura with refreshing mango lassi and lemon soda water. But if you\u2019re thinking about satisfying your chaat cravings during a heat wave like I did recently, calibrate your order based on how much spice you can handle under a handful of lazily whirring fans.<\/p>\n Hindu Temple Canteen<\/a><\/p>\n You’d never guess from the outside that the majestic Ganesh Temple in Queens houses a basement canteen serving some of the city’s most authentic South Indian cuisine. Since 1993, the Temple Canteen has perfected South Indian staples like pillowy idlis, crispy dosas, and thick, buttery uttapams\u2014all best dunked in a silky coconut chutney. The ghee pongal (rice and lentils with clarified butter) is gentle and hearty, a regular on my takeaway rotation. It’s a no-frills spot where bustling aunties keep the weekend crowds flowing efficiently while massive dosas sail past, stuffed with everything from classic potato masala to more adventurous paneer fillings. My weakness? The Pondicherry dosa\u2014a triangular beauty spread with spicy chutney and a savory mixture that delivers serious heat. Paired with piping hot Madras tea, sweetened with enough sugar to temper the spice in the best possible way. \u2014Pallavi Kumar<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dhamaka continues to challenge the expectations of what Indian flavors can taste like\u2014and diners can’t seem to get…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":115827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,8364,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,72667,988,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-115826","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-food-drink","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkcity","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-places-to-eat-drink","17":"tag-restaurants","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114965352592830694","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}