The Chipotle chain is such a recognizable entity that when a restaurant is referred to as “The Indian Chipotle,” I think most everyone understands what that means. The restaurant is Merzi in Penn Quarter, and the comparisons with Chipotle are accurate. Both present a mainstream … Read More →
Rinku Bhattacharya teaches Indian cooking classes, writes the blog Cooking in Westchester and is the author of the upcoming cookbook, The Contemporary Indian Table. We teamed up to put this cooking video together for one of her recipes: Salmon with Tamarind Chutney and Tangerine Glaze. I can … Read More →
What qualifies an eatery as a “hole-in-the-wall?” There are a few criteria (doesn’t have to meet all of them, but I’d say at least three): Hard to find, and/or has poor signage Small No website Inexpensive food A good chance an illegal gambling ring is … Read More →
Magicians use “misdirection” to direct an audience’s attention toward one thing while distracting their attention from something else. Misdirection in a magic trick evokes this reaction: Wow, that’s amazing! How’d they do that? Misdirection in a restaurant? Similar reaction. Wow, that’s amazing, our bill’s so … Read More →
Don’t Forget About Indian: Passage to India
Where does Indian cuisine currently rank on the ethnic food popularity scale? 10-15 years ago, wasn’t Indian food hotter than it is today? And I don’t mean spicier. For whatever reason, has Indian been supplanted by more “trendy” ethnic cuisines like Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Thai and … Read More →