one of my favorite indian restaurants on curry row (aka 6th street between 1st and 2nd avenues in the east village) is taj mahal, an unassuming storefront surrounded by other indian eateries. what makes this place so great? well, for starters, it’s cheap. many years ago, i took my sister there for dinner, and a two course meal, including mango lassis for each of us, came to 15$ total (not including tip). now that is a fantastic deal.
granted, i’ve been avoiding indian food ever since the time i overdosed on curry and went to the gym the next day and found myself sweating out cumin while on the elliptical trainer. sniffing, i thought, “it smells like dinner…oh god, that’s me!” i’ve never been one to want to smell like food, with the exception of vanilla or mango.
but the fiery burn of curry lures me in every time, and wednesday night was no exception. i met my dinner companion, an unabashed vegan, and we settled in to a lovely dinner of vegetable samosas and ghee-free curries. i went with my “usual,” the aloo gobi matar, potatoes, peas and caulifower. he had some kind of chickpea and spinach dish that i didn’t bother trying since i knew that i’d be flatulent enough after this meal.
service was attentive, the food was edible, tasty and fresh, and the price? 19$ for the both of us before tip. i felt generous saying, “i’ll get this” but really, it was no big deal. we left sated, bloated and burping up cardamom before heading home on the subway.
Leave a Reply