I belong to that group of people , for whom it will always be “Bombay”, “Calcutta”, the old charm , the old names. There is something in those words which are not easy to shrug off.

The first time , I saw the name, I remember clicking a pic and sending it to all my foodie friends who have strings and veins attached to “Bombay”.

This Sunday afternoon , in the middle of taking a friend around #NYC ,I quickly managed to fulfill my wish, possibly the sheer irresistible charm of the name was too difficult to ignore, the second time I was crossing this place.

That stretch is such a windy channel that my friend who is unaccustomed to this way of the world needed to get inside a place where we could have warm food and rest our feet for sometime. The moment we went in, surrounded by the familiar pic, aroma and the joy of food from the ‘land’ we got back the color which was missing in our faces all this while.

There were already about 5-6 people inside, but there were ample seats for us. We chose a table where I could see the street and my friend could sit closer to the heater.I could see it plain, how much he needed that.

The person taking our orders informed us that the mains came along with a bowl of rice. I was very happy as usually I am the ‘bheto’ (rice eater) .Moreover in this part of Manhattan, I really did not expect this. Another restaurant we have visited in the vicinity doesn’t offer rice with the mains and prices are also steeper. So we ordered one helping of mulligatawny soup , 1 seekh kabab, 1 lamb roganjosh , 1 lamb vindaloo initially. As the person attending us said, that this might not be sufficient , we ordered for 2 tandoori rotis too. Once we saw the quantity and tasted the food , we knew the rotis were extra . Firstly the quantity of food ordered initially was sufficient and most importantly the side dishes did not accord with the roti, they go better with rice.

The Mulligatawny soup needed a little more peppery taste so as to be aptly called – mulli-ga-tanny. The seekh kebab was perfect, it came with mint chutney and salad. The Roganjosh was fine . The lamb vindaloo , was too tangy. I won’t recommend it to anyone else visiting that place. Moreover , I shall highlight that all the meat dishes are lamb and not goat , hence just be cognizant before ordering.

But overall experience was nice and service was satisfactory too. Considering this is lower Manhattan I must say it’s pocket friendly. If I go back , I would love to occupy this seat and watch the road in front.

#avrilsfoodjournee #payertolayshorshe #usadiaries