Hot Breads = Teh Yum

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A few weeks ago we were in North Jersey, and went with friends to a new restaurant called “Hot Breads,” in Parsippany. I thought the idea of a cafe style restaurant along these lines was great, and I immediately thought, “hey, someone should open one of these down in Philadelphia!” When I got home, I hit Google, and discovered there are already two within 20 miles of my house, not to mention numerous franchises in California, Georgia, Maryland, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Virginia. [UPDATE: Abhi also gave his own take on this place two years ago, in this SM post]

Hot Breads specializes in stuffed croissants (tandoori chicken, paneer, etc.), but also offers a menu of other light foods (wraps, chaat, desi-style pizza) as well as dessert pastries. (See a typical menu here [PDF].) The format itself is a nice change from a typical Indian restaurant — with the year-round Christmas lights and sometimes shoddy service.

After the Parsippany experience, we went to the one in Lansdale/North Wales, and liked it even better. I particularly liked the Dabeli, a kind of Gujarati version of Vada Pav. I also found my Chicken Tikka wrap quite satisfying, and the chutney free version of the “Bombay Sandwich” we got for Puran was also good. We got stuffed Croissants to go, though perhaps they suffered a bit by being not quite as fresh when we actually ate them the next day. Next time, I’ll be curious to try the “Alu Chilli Pizza” — or perhaps the “Pav Bhaji Pizza.”

Oh, and everything tastes better with Limca!

puran limca hotbreads2.jpg

65 thoughts on “Hot Breads = Teh Yum”

  1. I’m talking about the Boston area. not just the city. the city is I believe 1/4 black by the way. I thought the Boston MSA was somewhat diverse. I’m guessing the Irish-Americans form the largest group but somehow I doubt they are the majority. things like that can be exagerrated.

    just boston itself from city-data

    Races in Boston:

    White Non-Hispanic (49.5%) Black (25.3%) Hispanic (14.4%) Other race (7.8%) Two or more races (4.4%) Chinese (3.3%) Vietnamese (1.8%) American Indian (0.9%) Asian Indian (0.8%) Other Asian (0.5%)

    a wiki link to look up the demographics click on the counties etc to get the demographics

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_census_statistical_areas

  2. sf=granola wasps

    sunnyvale=bespectacled mustachioed coders from Andhra Pradesh

    la=mexicans and the occasional white celebrity

  3. Now I’m completely bummed. I lived 10 minutes from the North Wales location for 3 years and never once thought to stop in. Now I live in Harrisburg, PA, which is most def not “desi land”. I’ve got 3 restaurants and 3 grocers to choose from. Not bad, really…

    Maybe I should open my own franchise.

  4. Question to any Bombay peeps reading this Does Croissants etc. still exist? they used to have branches near Churchgate and Breach Candy good croissants, shakes and sandwiches My favorite was the Chicken Junglee sandwich which was their take on chicken salad sandwich.

  5. Pav Bhaji pizza is awesome! My cousins sell it at their place (Kids Castle in Newark, CA) and its soo yummy! 🙂

  6. hot breads in houston has the best cake i’ve ever tasted. ever. their puffs are SO flaky they spill off your bread, which is wonderful. maybe it’s because i’ve never had bakery food in india, but i think it’s pretty darn good.

  7. @Yogi – Not sure about which branches you are talking in Bombay. But if you are talking to Bombay peeps then I am sure everyone must have had the Black Forest at a local Monginis or Birdy’s by Taj. I haven’t been to India in five years..heard there are lots of Cafe’s opened that sells Croissants & Biscotti’s….

  8. Yogi – Not sure about which branches you are talking in Bombay.

    I was referring to the local chain called Croissants etc. They had branches in several places, I used to go
    the one near Churchgate station quite often, and occasionally near the one American Consulate at Breach Candy.

  9. occasionally near the one American Consulate at Breach Candy.
    should read:
    occasionally to the one near the American Consulate

    Note to self: read first before hitting post.

  10. I made it to hot breads.

    Dislikes: Way, way, way too much onion. Gag with the a spoon. The samosa chaat, bhel puri, dhai belai chaat and tikka pizza all had way too much onion. The small tikka pizza was overpriced at $6.25.

    Likes: eclectic menu… and desserts.

    Desi fast food joint.

  11. I have been to the HotBreads in Exton,PA and I am completly disappointed with the taste. I do not even want to compare it with the one in Iselin,NJ. In fact my friends living in Exton do come to NJ if they feel like having a puf or pav. The “Dosa Hut” in Norristown is really good but a bit cogested.

  12. Hello friends,

    I went to the Hot Breads in Woburn. It was AMAZING. It’s a very authentic restaurant, and the recipes are very sincere. I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. My date and I could have easily shared $10 worth of food, since the portions are big.

  13. boston mahesh – the tamil convention last weekend had food from minerva (i think they have branches in boston and norwood) and the food was amazing! i honestly have not had that good south indian food produced for a huge crowd ever in the states. not to mention they had dishes that are rare in the states (e.g. chicken 65, semiya upma, kothu paratha). anyway, worth checking out.