Curry Hill Food Tour Begins Bleecker February 7, 2015 Dinner, Indian, Lunch, Murray Hill, Restaurants, Reviews Navigating Curry Hill The thought of Indian food can rile up many different emotions for people. Some love it, some despise it, and some just physically cannot handle it. Spice ain’t for everyone… But I am proud to say I’m a BIG fan. HUGE. And lucky for me, I live in the heart of “Curry Hill”, the affectionately nick-named neighborhood clustered around Murray Hill’s 28th street and Lexington Avenue. There you’ll find a whole slew of Indian restaurants, and authentic markets. Everything from South and North Indian cuisine, vegetarian buffets, dosas, Pakistani Kebabs. Enough to satisfy every Indian craving your stomach desires. I’ve set a personal goal for myself to try as many of these restaurants as possible. And I’m hoping you’ll join me on this journey! Over the course of this adventure (Curry Hill expedition if you will) I’ll be posting a review of each place I try, giving you the complete low down. The good, the bad, the spicy, the too spicy, and everything in between. Let’s not waste any time here! For my first venture into Curry Hill, my friend and I, after a diligent search on the internet, choose Pippali, located on 27th between Lexington and Park. We saw many positive reviews on this restaurant and decided to head over. Somehow we were distracted by the many other restaurants and could not seem to find Pippali. Too hungry to continue our search, we instead decided to simply commit to another without even consulting out phones! (I know, so unlike me!) ***Disclaimer: Pippali happened to be right around the corner. I guess our hunger fogged our vision. Anyway, we chose Dhaba Indian Cuisine, located right on Lexington, between 27th and 28th. For a Sunday night, it was not overly crowded, but many tables were filled which is a good sign when walking into any restaurant. Below I’ve given a quick overview of the place, our meal, and if I’d go back. Perfect for: Ideally go for the lunch buffet. With most Indian restaurants, this will get you the most bang for your buck, and you’ll be able to try a wide variety of the usually enormous menu. At $11.95 during the week, you can’t beat it. However, I went on Sunday for dinner and it was great and affordable. What to Order: My friend and I tried a few vegetable chicken dishes. We were also fortunate for the friendly couple next to us for giving us the leftover overn Naan and chicken. Thank you! My recommendation would be the Baigna da Dharta and the Chicken Tikka. Specific Perks: Right when you sit down your server will bring you Crispy lentil crackers with three dipping sauces. AKA the chips and salsa of Indian cuisine. It make the perfect snack to hold you over until your main course. I also appreciated that vegan items were specified on the menu. Many vegetarian Indian dishes include cream and ghee, but often the menu will not say so. This clarification makes it easy for all. Also, the server had no problem making vegetarian items vegan. A huge plus! Would I go back? 100%. Already looking forward to going back along with continuing our tour of other restaurants in Curry Hill Dhaba Indian Cusine – 108 Lexington Avenue – (212) 679-1284
