Please Update Me on Curry Hill South Indian Options

[Jim Leff]

Can anyone intimately acquainted with the south-indian places in curry hill please update me? Are Tiffin Wallah, Chennai Garden, Pongal, and Saravanaas still the quality choices, and are they still up to snuff? Any new openings?

[wleatherette]

our dinner at tiffin wallah last week was generally very good. pondicherry masala dosa (available on weekends only, i think) and a fried vegetable app (bajjia) were delicious. uttapam was less so, but still acceptable. on a previous visit, we really enjoyed the bhel puri, samosa chat, and undhiyu (from the gujarati curries section). our main complaint is that the chutneys/pickles are commercial stuff, and not even very good stuff at that.

[a_and_w]

Pongal has gone way downhill. Saravanaas, which I visited again on a recent trip, is going strong and probably your best bet. Still haven't tried Tiffin Wallah but I hear great things.

BTW, I don't know if you've tried Roomali, but it's an absolute must if you're in the area. Their chicken tikka rolls are one of the things I miss most about Manhattan...

[wleatherette]

just had an aloo chana roll from roomali a few weeks ago. great stuff.

[Produce Addict]

I've never heard of Roomali. Does it serve kati rolls?

[a_and_w]

Yep, but they call them roomali rolls, which seem to be the same thing.

[Produce Addict]

Sounds great. I'll check it out. And for anyone reading along it looks liek they are located on Lex bt 27th and 28th: 97 Lexington Ave, [phone]

[a_and_w]

The entrance is actually on 27th, just east of Lex.

[heWho]

Roomali's rolls are pretty good, but they just don't stack up to Kati Roll. Especially the chicken tikka which is where Kati Roll really shines

[a_and_w]

Disagree -- I find the chicken is more moist and flavorful at Roomali. Plus the egg comes standard at Roomali, which I like. That said, I've made a LOT of stops at Kati Roll Co. during my recent visits LOL!

[josh L]

jim,

what's the word these days? by far, saravanas is the best location for southern vegetarian on curry hill and the rest of new york for that matter. everything from the south indian chutneys, vegetable dishes to the dosas are meticulously prepared by the "master chefs" who have been trained for many years under the supervision of the hotel saravana bhavan. enjoy.

[sing me a bar]

Isn't there someplace in the same league that isn't vegetarian? Please not a minimalist fusion place, just serious authentic Indian?

[umisquirrel]

South Indian food is vegetarian.
I think that the South Indian restauarnts in Curry Hill are much better than the northern, but I would suggest that you try Haandi, Roomali, and Curry in a Hurry (tandoori chicken is pretty good).

[cimui]

I completely agree that s. Indian is much better than n. Indian in the area around Lexington and 29th or so.

My understanding, though, is that traditionally upper caste Hindu south Indian is vegetarian, while lower caste and non-Hindu is not. Heavily Christian areas like Kerala on the southwest tip of India have a long tradition of eating fish and other meat.

I've only had Curry in a Hurry once and that was by delivery -- but IMHO it is dreadful.

[tatamagouche]

So if one shouldn't necessarily hit Curry Hill for N Indian, what neighborhood *should* one hit? We're in town for just a few days and are going to aim for Indian on Mon.

IIRC there was once an Indian Row very near NYU, but I don't have strong memories of any of the places I actually visited.

[Lau]

its still there, but i think consensus is that most of the places are pretty bad (i agree with that)....generally most of the places are run by bengali people as well not indians

[cimui]

Hi tatamagouche, I don't know of any areas in the city with a high density of good n. Indian restaurants. But some of the better restaurants that serve n. Indian include Earthen Oven (tandoori), Chola, and Sukhadia's (Gujarati; they do chaat & sweets best).

I think the area near NYU that you're thinking of is probably "curry row" around E. 6th St. The food on curry row is generally pretty atrocious.

If you want good north Indian and don't mind travelling a bit, head to Jackson Heights in Queens. It's not too bad of a subway ride. You might want to post on the outer boroughs board for suggestions.

Hope you have a good stay. :)

[cimui]

Here are the chowhound links with addresses.

[Lau]

sukhadia is a good suggestion, but im biased b/c i love chaat

[dm123]

by the way, South Indian food is not always vegetarian. There's plenty of non-vegetarian dishes that are amazing. Whether or not any restaurants in the city make them, I don't know.

[Dave Feldman]

The last two times I've been to Chennai Garden (the last time a couple of months ago), it was better than ever. I think Tiffin Wallah helped put a fire under them. Right now, I'd rate them Saravannaas, Chennai Garden, Tiffin Wallah, and Pongal. But on any given night, I don't think there's that much to choose among the top 3.

I find the atmosphere at Tiffin Wallah to be the most fun -- the waiters seem to be enjoying working there. Saravanaas is more professional and more rushed, so I find myself eating at CG and TW more even though I think the food might have a very slight edge at S.

[cimui]

I agree with Dave about Chennai Garden and Saravannaas. Inspired in part by this post, I went back to Saravannaas last weekend and Chennai Garden early this week. I liked Chennai Garden much better, in part because I think they've perfected the art of the very thin, almost greaseless paper dosai, I like their style of sambar better, and I like their bhindi.

Haven't tried Pongol recently, but yes, the last time I tried (more than a year ago, I think... wow, time flies when you're getting old), I remember walking away thinking that it had gone way downhill. I really ought to give it another go, soon.

[10yrresident]

I, too, went back to Chennai Garden early this week and had a great meal. Pongal--last went 2 years ago, totally mediocre.

[sugartoof]

Saravanaas is really the only reliable one of the bunch now.

The rest are interchangeable, and my theory is it depends on the night you go, and how fresh the particular dish you're ordering might be at that moment.

I haven't been back to the others, but Tiffin Wallah didn't taste like anything special to me. It gets boring when every order on your plate has the same flavor. I didn't have the dosas though, and from the pics, they do seem like they might redeem the place.

[tracyw19]

Has anyone ever been to Curry Leaf? I really like their Malai Kofta. Whats the best thing to order at Saravanaas? I've always wanted to go, but I go to Indian alone and am a bit overwhlemed!

[sugartoof]

If you can sneak out during the day, they have a lunch special combo kinda thing, and I've never seen it all that crowded (as opposed to the lines for brunch, and packed house at dinners). Otherwise, anything Dosa would be safe!

[HHH]

I just went to Saravannaas for lunch, and was really impressed by the quality. I had the "mini tiffin" for $9, and it was very filling, and a good way to sample a few different dishes. I got a dosa, two kinds of chutney, a vegetable dish, a grain and a sweet. I always thought you had to go to Jersey City, Edison, NJ etc. to get great Indian food, and here it is, walking distance from my office!

[Lau]

I think saravannas is a really outstanding restaurant...very much reminds we of some of the tamil places i used to go in singapore

[Pan]

They may even have a branch in Singapore. I remember looking at the list of branches, which I think is outside their front door, and I do remember that one of them is in Kuala Lumpur. I agree with you about Saravanaas and will not hesitate to take a visiting Malay friend there when he's in town this June. I think he will be satisfied, and of course, vegetarian food - under kosher supervision, yet - is halal, so he can eat it with confidence.

[Lau]

i believe you're right, i think they do have a singapore branch (i used to hit komalas vilas in singapore in the little india branch...amazing)

[a_and_w]

I used to order delivery from Curry Leaf regularly. It was always solid. I believe they're owned by the same people who own Kalyustans, though for some reason the samosas always taste better at the store.

[Brian S]

The new hotspot for South Indian food, both veg and non-veg, is Jersey City!
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/25230...

[sugartoof]

I think Jersey as a whole has superior Indian, and Pakistani food. When they have their respective parades and food fairs in manhattan, the best booths are always from Jersey by far.

[a_and_w]

This is what my Indian friends always told me. I'm still pissed I missed the opportunity participate in a tasting arranged by one such friend -- and she lived in Queens. If you have the chance to explore NJ Indian, I'd take it.

[ChiquitaBanana]

I would recommend trying Banana Leaf. I think it's a little better than Curry Leaf, and more like the Indian places in the East Village (which tend to be better than Curry Hill). On that note, Raj Mahal on E. 6th is a great place to go too.

[foodshark73]

Out of the restaurants we're talking about, does one have a (weekday) lunch buffet that stands out?

[Jim Leff]

South Indian does not lend itself to buffets. Stuff like iddli, vada, dosa, utthapam can't sit for even a few minutes, and rice-heavy veg entrees are also poor candidates for steam tables.

[Dave Feldman]

I have been to a couple of South Indian buffets that had a dosa station (like an omelet station) and vada are OK if smothered in rasam or yogurt sauce (think: matzo balls and soup). I've never seen one with iddli or uttapham or, heaven forfend, dosa sitting around.

[Miss Needle]

Not in Curry Hill, but I think one of the best Indian buffets is probably Chola. They serve both N. Indian and S. Indian food. Jim Leff is right that a lot of S. Indian doesn't sit well. The heaviness and fat in N. Indian food makes it hold up better at steam tables. But Chola makes their dosas and serves it tableside so it stays nice and crispy. They also serve chaat tableside as well. And the lunch buffet is available 7 days a week.

[vvvindaloo]

Agreed. No one comes close to Chola for lunch buffet, in both quality and variety. However, it is not South Indian.

[Miss Needle]

Not South Indian, but they have a small selection of South Indian dishes at their buffet like masala dosa, sambar, coconut chutney, idly and those vegetable pancakes (don't know what they're called). I think Chola is a good compromise if you've got a group of meat-eaters and vegetarians.

[Pan]

Chola was an ancient Southern Indian kingdom. It's kind of odd if it's not a South Indian restaurant.

[Miss Needle]

They really serve both N and S Indian on the menu. In addition to the S. Indian stuff they serve things like vindaloo and tandoori. The buffet also tends to be a mix as well. Interesting thing about the name. I'll bet it started out as a S. Indian place. But I think they serve the N Indian stuff because that's what most people expect when they go to an "Indian" restaurant.

[Pan]

That has a ring of truth to me. Most non-Indians doubtless think of North Indian and Anglo-Indian items first. Vindaloo is originally a Goan dish, but the old Goan style is not very similar to the North Indian/Anglo-Indian style. And of course Chicken Tikka Masala, which I understand was created by an Indian chef in London.

[Brian S]

Chola bronzes were one of the apogees of Indian art (and Hindu art) so the name might be used by non-southerners.

[alc]

I have enjoyed the buffets at Madras Mahal on Lexington at 27th and at Chennai Garden on 27th between Park and Lex..

Uptown, Chennai on First Ave. between 86th and 87th has a wonderful buffet.

[bigjeff]

tiffin wallah's the joint at $6 (or is it $7?). lots of turnover, lines out the door, and they only offer about 5 or 6 dishes at most, so its quite good.

[ballulah]

This thread made me remember my latent craving for Indian food and order some for lunch today. When Tiffin Wallah first opened they didn't have a delivery service, and it's just a hair too far away from my office for convenience, so I never got around to trying it. After reading this thread I checked if their delivery service had finally started up, and they had!

I ordered the lunch special, $6 for the buffet, or for delivery. I had a yellow lentil curry of some kind, with lots of black mustard seeds, and spinach, eggplant, potato, onion curry of another kind. It came with white fluffy basmati rice, and delicious bright red rice with bits of unidentifiable good stuff (onions, something else and something else, and black mustard seeds)...and a generous helping of two kinds of bread. And a salad. And a small dessert. For $6. Everything was absolutely delicious. And it got me out of my comfort zone, as I tend to order the same things over and over.

I'm not sure if my enjoyment wasn't colored just a little bit by the fact that it was so darned cheap, and maybe it was, but even so, if you have $6 in your pocket and are passing by, you can't ask for a better lunch. Excuse me while I go off to enjoy my food coma.

[TongoRad]

So they delivered a little bit of everything from the buffet? Very interesting...I'll have to keep that in mind. Thanks.

I do like going there, though, because the sambar is the best in the nabe and I enjoy going back for seconds on that one. Very good value, indeed.

[sugartoof]

i did takeout from the buffet and they basically let me just smash what i could into the tin, and run hahah. they gave me a thing of tin foil for the bread and another sheet for something else. I got it all home and really didn't even want to finish what I had....everything tasted second rate, same-ish.

[Jim Leff]

You're talking about tiffin wallah, right?

I'd imagine a sameness under those circumstances...buffet fare smashed and eaten fast out of tin. South Indian food is about subtle variations on sort of monolithic themes (black mustard seediness, slightly fermented lentil batters, etc). That treatment was kind of guaranteed to underscore that commonality.

[anil]

South Indian food is quite varied it texture and flavour. To go beyond the dosas,idli,vada,uttapham (which essentially are considered quick bites) is to experience the cooking styles of Kerela,Konkan and meat dishes of tamil nadu. Having said that, the two sri-lankan in manhattan that have some of the dishes similar to kerela are Nirvana and Sigri.

[bigjeff]

intriguing. where are these two places? additional thoughts on the two?

[wleatherette]

nirvana is on 3rd ave @ 19th st, i think, and sigiri is on 1st ave between 5th and 6th (second floor, in the midst of the cheap indian joints).

[Jim Leff]

I'm sorry if it seemed like I was saying the cuisine is monotonous. I didn't mean that at all! Just that squashing up a bunch of stuff in a tin would tend to highlight the common qualities.

[nigella sativa]

The word is....BREAKFAST at Saravanas. It's great. Another fact to consider is that Chennai Garden and Tiffin Wallah have the same owner. The guy with the floppy hair.

[bigjeff]

wanting to stop in for a late lunch on sunday, many of the restaraurants in the area were actually packed, which was awesome. lines out the door for saravanaas so I didn't want to bother going, tiffin wallah was actually packed too (no buffet on weekends) and after walking back and forth from a couple of diff. restaurant and peeking in (bollywood masala's buffet looked really bad, madras mahal had a weekend brunch but it seemed a bit dreary inside) we ended up at chennai garden and had a very nice lunch. the rava masala dosa was deliciously crisp, the bhel puri decent but not outstanding (is it really supposed to be just masala mix topped with wet stuff?), the okra curry nice, the weekend special of uppadam (cream of wheat drowning in ghee) delicious but too heavy to eat more than a spoonful and the pea paratha bland, but nice. the sambar were both nice and I'd go back to try a selection of dosa instead of the other stuff. I thought both chennai garden and tiffin wallah were the same owners? maybe not; nice interior, a little dark; I'd definitely try to get the two sunlit tables at the front of the restaurant if possible. fast, speedy service and very nice food, I'd go again for sure. good thing we took a long walk after the meal though; like other times I've had south asian, you don't eat a lot of food but it's quite rich so you feel it.

[nigella sativa]

But Tiffin Wallah owner told me he owns Chennai! That was about a year ago--it's possible he's sold it. If it's all about the decor well apparently TW was a new concept / high concept spin-off restaurant of chennai. Regardless, he seems to be struggling. Soundtrack no longer hip and no line at lunch. My guess this could be due to competition from the newer (also "high-concept") "Dhaba" around the corner. I stopped in for buffet two days in a row after an absense of a year. Many of the dishes were to heavy on fat but still had more clarity of flavor than you find at most buffets or Indian restaurants in general. I still love this place even though I prefer the subzi at the sikh hole in the wall on the north east side of 29th street.

[nigella sativa]

Sikh/Punjabi place (Curry Express???) is still a bargain but caution advised:
The staff is quite nice here and while still an amazing value for the block--less than 5 dollars for vegetarian thalli--the quality has been a little uneven last two tries--at least for vegetarian options. Nevertheless, some of the subzies at this place are really, really good; of a quality not found too often even at the 'table cloth establishments"! Today there was a dull chenna curry offered which was just mashed up chenna in an otherwise unexciting tomato/onion gravy. It was little eye appeal + it was rather bland and the texture was too 'broken-down'. My main choices were the mixed vege which was good although marred by too many soggy frozen carrots and oily pieces of sauteed onion, shagg with chickpeas which was fantastico--not too oily and interestingly seasoned with heat and more than a hint of cloves in the garm mix--and, okra. I should have known better than to ask for okra which looked a little sad and was held in a smaller pan on the steam table. Can't comment on the non-vegtarian offereings but I would suggest limiting your choices to what is in the large pans in the vegetarian section of the steam table and avoiding anything that looks like it might have been reheated.

[alwayscooking]

I did my research here on CH and choose Saravanaas for the single south Indian meal I'd have during a 48 hour trip this week from Boston I typically love this cusine and looked forward to going to a truly excellent meal given the size of NYC (we have but a single decent place that I've found here in Boston). If this is the best in Murray Hill or NYC, then something is seriously wrong - it was simply terrible mash.

My full review: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/616404

Better to come to Boston to eat.

[a_and_w]

I'm so sorry your experience was negative -- maybe you got unlucky? I ate a lot of Indian food in Boston/Cambridge and never found anything remotely comparable to Sarvanaas.

PS: Just to clarify, are you familiar with South Indian cuisine, which is quite different from the North Indian curries most people have tried?

[Ike]

I also had an underwhelming experience at Saravanaas a few months ago with one of the thalis. I think it was a Monday or Tuesday so maybe the regular chef wasn't in, or maybe they were having an off night, but I've had better, brighter-tasting, more flavorful south Indian food elsewhere.

[Pan]

Other people have posted similarly: That the strength of Saravanaas is really the masala dosas (I also love the utthapams and some of the desserts). Whose thalis do you like best?

[bigjeff]

they slippin!

[Pan]

What is slipping? The thalis or the utthapams/masala dosas? And which places do the best Madrasi thalis?

[bigjeff]

used to love eating there for dosas but branched out for some thalis and didn't like it; I like to go to chennai gardens these days (like dave F below). never found a seriously good thali anywhere; often the one at saravanaas was like eating birds eye vegetables in slightly different sauces, and not much more beyond that.

[Pan]

I guess it may be time for me to go back to Chennai Garden. I went there a couple of years ago and thought it was quite good but have been liking Saravanaas more.

[Dave Feldman]

Chennai Garden goes back and forth, depending on who is in the kitchen. Generally speaking, if dishes come out one at a time, it's a good sign at CG.

[Pan]

Dave:

Which of the South Indian places in Curry Hill do you find most consistent?

[Dave Feldman]

I haven't been exploring much lately. Most of my friends don't like Saravanaas, so I usually alternate between Chennai Garden and Tiffin Wallah. I think Chennai has really improved in the last six months. I'm a fan of Dhaba, too, especially for vegetarian and lamb dishes, but it's not Southern.

[Ike]

"...like eating birds eye vegetables in slightly different sauces, and not much more beyond that." Yes, yes, that's it *exactly*! You have described it better than I could.

[Dave Feldman]

I don't eat at Saravanaas as much as I used to, not so much because the food has declined, but because the vibe just isn't that friendly or relaxed. But there are plenty of better places for dosas -- I think the cooked vegetables are the relative strong point. I tend to eat onion rava dosas, and right now Chennai Garden has bounced back and has terrific rava dosas, dosa podi, and sometimes, great sambar. The cooked vegetable dishes tend to be a little hit and miss.

[bigjeff]

seems to be some conflicting opinions and I trust my man pcherches:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5922...

i think i need to go to saravanaas NOT on a monday/tuesday and hit that thali again.

[Pan]

Why not on a Monday or Tuesday?

[bigjeff]

eh, just according to Ike. but there are good recs on that other thread I linked to so . . . . ya, sounds good.