Bombay Talkie, a new chaat-plus-entrees place that sounds like an upscale version of Kati Roll Co., opened recently in Chelsea. It shares its name with the novel by Ameena Meer. The NYT says:
The menu plays with the conceit of Indian street food, and so appetizers are listed as “street bites.” Entrees appear under the heading “from the roadside.” Side dishes are from, well, the “curbside…” Bombay Talkie is in many ways a neighborhood joint in an especially pretty dress, designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen…… then of course there are the cocktails, which, I’m told, take their names from Bollywood movies… What are the temperature, tinge and taste of “unrequited love”? It is cold but not frigid, transparent but vaguely green, and extremely potent, thanks to modest measures of lime juice and saffron syrup in a sea of Bombay Sapphire gin.
The place has a dark sense of humor:
Brunch has a theme they’re calling The Return of the Raj: teas, tea sandwiches, pancakes, hams, fresh preserves….if not trickle pie.
Kati Roll Co., a tiny, long-time Greenwich Village favorite, has a rotating selection of classic Bollywood posters on the wall. And speaking of the designer, I haven’t figured out yet why the Dutch are so into desi kitsch. I’m not complaining.
Before it was the title of a Ameena Meer novel, “Bombay Talkies” was a movie theater in Bandra (suburban Bombay).
And before that, it was the name of a famous Bollywood movie studio from the 1940s-50s…
Still, props to the Kati Roll folks for preparing to move up in the world. The old low-budget Kati Roll place is one of my favorite stops in lower Manhattan: lunch for $4.
You know, there’s nothing more frustrating than Kati Roll. The food is okay, but the prices are ridiculous. I know I shouldn’t expect Kolkata prices, but the last time I was there it was like $3-$5 for a roll.
And I didn’t get no bangla hookup even though I made friends with the dude behind the counter.
By the way, I love that the owner is West Bengali but all the staff, like every other restaurant in the city, is overworked Bangladeshis. No end to how little solidarity there is…
“The place has a dark sense of humor:
I recently hit ‘Bombay Talkie’ with my Mumbai-native parents. The decor was clean, modern, and a tad kitschy. We sat down and the gori waitress asked if she could explain the menu to us. “Explain the menu” apparently consisited of making a mockery of the Hindi language and alerting the customer to the diference between appetizers and main courses. There are not that many dishes on the menu, how hard is it learn the pronunciations. Servers in French and Italian joints learn to pronounce chardonay and bruschetta properly. I don’t think I’m being overly critical. The food was uniformly bland and uninspired. We wanted to like it out of provincial loyalities but sadly it did not happen. If you’re a fan of ‘sakkath’ diverse Bombay street food- chinese road stalls, parsi delicacies, bhel puri, pau baji–this is not the place for you. I can’t really see it appealing to a mainstream crowd either.
Come on, look at the picture. If it’s all gaure sitting there eating, how authentic can the chaat be?
I love Kati Roll for what they were, but when it comes to quality or price, Indian Bread Company (around the corner from Kati Roll on Bleeker) is way way better food for way better price.
OK. So I am a Kati Roll die-hard. So first of all kudos to them for starting off this street food trend. I also find it funny that Bombay Talkie also has the Bollywood theme. Food there (BT) was strictly OK – nothing to complain but nothing to go back for either. Considering the expectations with which I went there it was a huge disappointment. It’s such a shame but I suppose the Gora crowd will lap it up. Oh well, I guess I am off to Kati Roll again.
thanks for the reference! i’ve been meaning to write for ages. IMHO, the kati roll place is REALLY yummy and even if the guys are bangla, the food is very authentic (and, fyi, the main manager at roomali is nepali, but they’re v good and cheaper than kati roll but payal, the owner of kati roll really worked like a dog to make that place fabulous and she deserves every customer she has!) i am less impressed by the indian bread company – but maybe i need to give it another chance.
no matter what, everyone should go to both kati roll AND indian bread co and support hardworking desi women entrepreneurs… maybe when my kids go to college i’ll write another (better) novel – that doesn’t steal its title from a merchant-ivory film. (a tiny piece of back story, i actually wanted to call the novel, an evening in paris, after the old sharmila tagore movie…) in the meantime, i am going back to advertising.