For no reason at all, I have never been drawn to Indian food. There has always been at least one Indian restaurant on my list of places to visit, but then I would always end up at restaurants that are familiar to me. So, when Restaurant Week blessed us last month, I took full advantage of it, and chose three of them to go and try them out. Of course I did my research, and picked the three that seemed to have great reviews and excellent reputations. And of course they were great. So much flavor, so many spices, it is a feast for your taste buds. I'm so glad I finally got off my lazy, complacent butt and ventured out of my comfort zone. Because now my comfort zone has expanded, and Indian food is 100% included.
Baar Baar
Baar Baar is located in the East Village, and I love that area anyway. This place is spacious and pretty, and the people working there, are definitely very nice. You are welcomed by a delicious smell of food that is somewhat different to me, but nevertheless mouthwatering.
My first dish was called Tuna Papdi Chat, and it was comprised of raw tuna, avocado, pickled chili, radish and Togarashi. So basically it was an Indian ceviche. I'm all about that. The dish ended up being a few of the most delicous bites, and I could have easily had ten of them. Absolutely delightful.
I heard of Butter Chicken before, and I wanted to know what the hoopla was all about, so for my main dish I certainly ordered it, and I get it now. I'm quite upset with myself that I waited this long to try it. Butter Chicken immediately rose to one of my favorite dishes. I ate it with some Garlic Naan, which was also outstanding. I highly recommend this.
My dessert was A Coconut Payasam Tres Leches, which is a our tried and true dessert with an Indian twist. It was made with Cashew Nougatine and Jaggery Caramel. What an excellent dessert. I probably devoured it in less than three minutes.
Junoon
Junoon calls the Flatiron District home. The restaurant itself is very large and spacious, the decor is absolutely beautiful. In recent years this place had a Michelin Star, but ended up losing it in 2024. I can attest that that loss is not due to the food (at least in my opinion), because I thought it was fantastic.
My appetizer was called Tuna Puchka. That is a Pani Puri (a deep fried, thin, hollow breaded ball) filled with tuna, Cilantro Jaljeera, onions and chaat Masala. Wow. It so flavorful, I absolutely loved this dish.
My main dish was called Shrimp Moilee, which is also a very traditional dish. The shrimp were very large, cooked in coconut milk, turmeric, mustard seed and tomatoes (it said heirloom tomatoes on the menu, but they ended up being Cherry tomatoes). Very good dish.
My favorite dish that day was the dessert, it was so pretty and playful: the Kulfi Selection. Kulfi is an frozen dairy dessert, an here I was given four different flavors of Kulfi (Mango, Rose Petal, Ube Malai and Saffron Walnut). It was honestly great!
Gupshup
Gupshup was recommend to me by a friend who is very knowledgeable in this type of food, and is fully trusted by me with his opinions. Of course I went, and he was 100% correct. This restaurant is also very spacious (that's not easily to come by here in New York city), it's lively and decorated in a very fun way. I sat by the window, studied the menu, and went to town. My appetizer were four Butter Chicken wings. I already fell in love with Butter Chicken, so these had to be good in my thought pattern. I was correct, they were genuinely delicious. I am definitely going back for more.
I don't know about you, but the word Biryani has been floating around me for a few years, it seems to be a popular dish, so of course I needed to try the chicken version of this. What an impressive dish! My server explained it as sort of an Indian version of a Paella, and that sounded heavenly to me. This dish was served in a high sided bowl that was covered with dough and pistachios, then oven baked. My server proceeded to cut the dish open, while creating a flap, and under it was the most delicious rice dish, accompanied by Burani Raita, which is yogurt sauce made with garlic. Outstanding.
My dessert was called Gulab Jamun, which are deep fried dumplings, similar to donut holes, assembled in a dish of syrup. Very sweet, very tasty, very pretty.
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