IF THERE’S one thing I love – and by default you must too – is a really good Indian! I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. You understand I don’t mean a person of Indian descent, of course, but the food that originated in the Indian sub-continent. Yes, it’s true, it has almost become the British national cuisine in a bizarre topsy-turvy kind of way, eclipsing that most stereotypical of British foods, fish and chips.

Interestingly, I’ve noticed that wherever peoples of Indian (or Pakistani) descent settle around the world, the indigenous people in those countries do not associate the cuisine with Britain at all. Put bluntly, I believe our perceived “ownership” of this cuisine has to do with Britain’s colonial past. After 300 years of colonial rule in India and Pakistan – and despite all the horrendous things our forbears did over there – we managed to instill a democratic, parliamentary tradition. We also instilled a love of cricket and squash – and in both games Indians and Pakistanis routinely beat the Brits (far more often than we manage to beat them, I hasten to add). Oh the shame of it.

However, back to food. In my worldly travels, I lived for a time in Toulouse, southern France. Now we all know how much the French are lauded for their haute cuisine in foodie circles both here and back in the UK. It seemed, however, that my French friends enjoyed a good curry almost as much as us Brits. And yet, an Indian waiter asking for my menu order in French was somehow ‘out of place’ for me. This guy should have had a thick Brummie, Bradford or Mancunian accent, but here we were conversing in French in a country other than England. Strange. Deeply rooted echoes of that colonialism, perhaps.

Back home we all have our favourites. One of my personal favourite Indian/Pakistani restaurants in the UK was called Paradise, situated on Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, along Manchester’s rightly-famous ‘curry mile’. A Pakistani restaurant with excellent service, varied dishes with good quality ingredients, well-prepared – in plain view, which I like – and pretty good prices.

Here in New York City we (and I mean us ex-pat Brits), are fortunate indeed to have many immigrants of South Asian descent also living in the tri-state area. Fortunate because for every ten that will become brilliant programmers or web developers, there will be one that’ll go into the restaurant business – thankfully. And they will bring to this business the culinary traditions their parents taught them from the homeland. So we can find North Indian, South Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants in this city of five boroughs and 140 languages.

There are three main areas where Indian/Pakistani restaurants are concentrated and easy to find: Jackson Heights in Queens, Murray Hill on the east side of midtown, also known as “Curry Hill”, and, of course, the East Village, specifically 6th Street. You’ll also find them scattered throughout the city, but I find a stroll past a few of these restaurants taking in those aromas along with the sights and sounds is a sure fire way to muster up an appetite. You can also enjoy traditional Indian music in some restaurants to go along with the food, or maybe it’s to distract you from the food, I’m not sure which. You’ll have to decide that.

There are many worth searching out though. According to menupages.com there are over 170 restaurants classified and rated as ‘Indian’, although it doesn’t appear to break them out into Pakistani or Bangladeshi. There’s also a ‘chainlet’ called Baluchi’s, where the quality varies wildly from place to place. I tend to avoid chains, preferring instead to try out the many single restaurants where the cuisine is usually a little more authentic and less homogenised. Beware too, there are some very bad Indian restaurants in this town and an online review at nyindia.us/restaurants can be brutally honest in pointing them out.

Here in New York, we have our favourites too. But you might be surprised to find that the restaurant owned and run by famous actress and cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey CBE (Dawat – 210 East 58th St) isn’t one of the top-rated Indian restaurants, depending on whom you ask. Currently, one of the most highly rated places is Vatan (409 3rd Ave), which is apparently a favourite among Indian purists. Inside it has the look of a little Indian village, with nooks and crannies. Another is Angon On The Sixth (320 East 6th St/2nd Ave), a Bangladeshi restaurant run by a well-known chef named Mina. Angon has slightly more upscale decor without upscale prices and consistently gets great ratings for the complex spices and nuanced tastes of the dishes. A third is Banjara (97 1st Ave), described not-so-flatteringly as a ‘better-than-good’ alternative to the more well-known and consequently, more crowded ‘curry row’ regulars along 6th Street. It delights patrons with its clay oven specialities and it’s downtown rather than mid-town location keeps the prices reasonable. The only place I want to mention that is in midtown is a self-proclaimed ‘eclectic Indian cuisine’ restaurant called Chola (232 East 58th St/3rd Ave). Their lunch buffet comes in at under $15, making it a bargain for good quality midtown restaurants. 

And finally, for those Brits amongst us who know or remember Brick Lane in the East End of London, you’ll be either intrigued or apprehensive to know that there is a restaurant along 6th Street called Brick Lane. But most of the aficionados on chowhound.com claim it to be quite authentic and not the British-Indian invention that is often mis-associated with traditional Indian cooking. Anyone interested in finding out more about the local NYC Indian scene should check out the chowhound site mentioned previously, or Zagat’s, either online or the handy red book owned by most self-respecting foodies here.

Traditionally, all this talk of food – particularly Indian – comes at the end of a night out with friends, when you’re all feeling very hungry. Luckily for us ex-pats over here, there’s no end of potential for ‘nights out’ that can be followed by sharing a good Indian meal with friends.

So, where can we go that’s going to whet your appetite for a great curry? Well, if like me you can remember the late-70’s-early-80’s and liked them, then the reformed Police gigs at Madison Square Garden on October 31 and November 2 would be the place to go. Or how about Duran Duran? Yes, believe it or not they’re still around, and worse, they’re touring America again! I can think of little worse than seeing a bloated Simon Le Bon, but please, if you have to go scream at them, you can do it at the Barrymore Theatre, from November 1-3. Yes, that’s three nights and tickets still available. As I write this you are unfortunately missing one of Ireland’s great voices. Mr Grumpy himself, Van Morrison with the Bobby Blue Band is playing a three-night set at the United Palace Theatre here in the city. I missed it too.

And let’s not forget that after more than two years away from the marathon, our very own world-record holder Paula Ratcliffe will return to the ING New York City Marathon for 2007. It takes place on Sunday November 4 and there are many places along the route of the race to cheer her on – or your friends. And in another moment of culture, the following Saturday (November 11) is an interesting exhibition for all you photographers fascinated by photography’s early years in Britain. It’s at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, titled, Impressed By Light: British Photographers at the Birth of Photography. Looking at the beginnings of the art form between 1840-1860, the show promises to be a not-to-be-missed event.

There is much, much more going on in the city in the run up to the holidays, so please tune in for another ramble on a subject close to our Brit hearts.

Until next time, Charlie Fellowes
newyorkbrits.com