A non-desi former pastry chef has opened a restaurant in Greenwich Village which serves traditional dhaba food, lassi and paranthas (thanks, BridalBeer). The new place is called Lassi:
From delicate plate-dwarfing dosas at Hampton Chutney Co. and the N.Y. Dosa cart, to wraplike rolls at Roomali and the Kati Roll Co., to the colorful, crunchy chaat of Sukhadia’s Gokul, we’re undoubtedly having a Southeast Asian street-food moment…
I think they mean South Asian, but carry on:
Catchily named for the frothy yogurt drinks on offer in mango-flavored profusion all over town, Lassi is much more than an ethnic smoothie shop (though its premade featured beverages, in potent, refreshing flavors ranging from spice-flecked cardamom and vanilla to a complex and curdy lemon, can easily become an après-gym addiction).
… Lassi is bright and cheerful–like its owner, Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez, the former pastry chef of L’Impero and Veritas. A chance encounter with a Punjabi student in a pastry class she was teaching–and many stereotype-shattering home-cooked Indian meals– inspired Carlucci-Rodriguez to change culinary course. And even though she’s an unlikely Indian-restaurant owner, she’s a passionate one. Her food tastes unlike any other Indian in town–fresher, cleaner, but undiluted in its intricately spiced essence.
Fresher, lighter — is it California-style Indian food, a la California burritos?
The backbone of Lassi’s menu is its parathas, just one of the Atkins- be-damned Indian breads that’s begun to make fast-food inroads here. The dough itself is minimally stuffed with minced fillings like goat, daikon, or a particularly flavorful cauliflower, griddle-blistered and served folded in half with boondi raita, spiced yogurt studded with tiny chickpea dumplings. Chewy and dense, satisfyingly grease-slicked and impregnated with herbs and spices, the paratha is best eaten immediately, in its most supple, almost tender state, at one of Lassi’s four counter stools. Lassi and paratha may be the tiny shop’s raisons d’être… Desserts like pumpkin halwa, a creamy, grainy, evocatively flavored pudding studded with pistachios and yellow raisins, fuse her old life and her new one.
One reviewer missed the traditional overstuffed Punjabi paranthas:
The parathas were more dough than filling, not what a traditional home style place ought to do. Parathas are what brought me in, parathas are what really made me cringe.
Will Lassi go the same way as Bombay Talkie in appealing more to mainstream palates than desi ones?
Update: DBS doesn’t like the juice, eh?
I ordered a coffee lassi – small, in the interest of trying something new and staying mildly within budget, though the $3.50 price tag seemed a bit excessive. When it was delivered with a smile, I almost gagged: the diminutive beverage was all of 4 ounces tall, dwarfed in its sad plastic cup by the straw that rose awkwardly above it.Lassi, 28 Greenwich Ave./10th St., 212-675-2688; Tue-Sun 12-10Simultaneously, a white patron leaned conspiratorially towards the counter and stated earnestly “this is fantastic. This is my favorite Indian place in the city.” I restrained myself from laughing out loud, half-sipped my micro-drink and waited for my aloo paratha. The paratha, priced at $3.95, was quite doughy and unremarkable for the price…
… if you are downtown, and looking for a good lassi, take thee to the Himalayan Cafe, a slightly larger shoebox of a space off the corner of 1st St. and 1st Ave. The lassis, which come in traditional and one new flavor (banana), are great, $2.50, and come in a pint glass.
Thats cool that she loves the food so much she opened the restaurant, good luck to her.
They could market it as:
“Come home, to Lassi!”
[the sound of an obscure reference whizzing by]
“fresher, cleaner, but undiluted in its intricately spiced essence.”
wtf??? not so subtle racism aside, this reviewer clearly doesn’t subscribe to one of the foodie’s cardinal rules: the divier, the better.
except for that bangladeshi place i went to last week. ewwww.
I once decided not to take a job because they used “southeast asian” instead of “south asian.” this incenses me to no end, for some reason. i guess we all have different triggers for our invisibility complexes.
I had dinner there with a friend a couple of weeks ago. It was disappopinting. I will not go again, nor would I recommend it
Although the ambience (and SoHo model oggling) w/ its yogic chant soundtrack and portraits of gurus was fun and trippy, the $10+ grilled chicken, spiced potato and spinach dosa (they don’t serve sambar nor coconut chutney) from Hampton Chutney Company I had for lunch today just didn’t cut it. Unless a mutineer can vouch for this dosa guy in Washington Sq Park, I’m going to have to make a trip to Jackson Heights for the real deal. The chai wasn’t half bad though – much closer to what I’d drink at home than Starbucks’ Chai Latte.
Gurpreet- try Dosa Hut (27&Lex hood, also in Flushing) Pongal (same hood) is ok but a bit greasy for my tastes.
I’m not familiar with the Washington Sq Park guy… Manish?
Here’s a writeup on the dosa guy, a friend says his stuff is really tasty. I’ve never managed to be by Washington Sq. Park at lunchtime on a weekday.
Gurpreet – you went to Hampton Chutney? For Shame! You shoulda asked me first. I did try the regular dosa there, and it was lousy too. I have heard people vouch for the cart though, but haven’t tried it myself.
I read somewhere that the two Dosa Huts are unrelated. Isn’t the Dosa Hut in Queens operated by a Hindu temple? Thanks Manish & Ennis – I’ll give the Washington Sq Park dosa guy a shot when/if the weather gets better.
gurpreet, if you’re interested in non South Indian, some more suggestions:
pakistani tea house (greasy, but a cheap and effective dhaba–i think 24/7–and the guy who works behind the counter with the crazy hair is super nice) church and reade in tribeca;
apparently the kashmiri place on 46th and 8th or thereabouts is supposed to be good but I’ve never been;
i like curry in a hurry’s naan (lexington and 27th?);
karahi in soho has a great all you can eat brunch.
also, shaheen in jackson heights (72nd and broadway) is (was?) managed by a great guy who supports nonprofit community work, so i support shaheen.
and the bangaladeshi restaurants in brooklyn (church mcdonald) give big ramadan packages at dinner, but i’m veg and never had any so can’t vouch for quality. but i always coveted those ramadan meal packs.
Your UK readers are feeling left out…
Sakonis lunch time buffet for the chilli paneer alone.
Masala Zone for the variety, not quality.
Woodlands for good veggie fare.
Kerala Restaurant for dosa.
More?
I love Indian food, it’s the best in the world.