Dimple

[Suvir Saran]

Dimple is great.  I love going there when I have those urges for chaat (mouth watering, lip smacking, lick ity lick good Indian street foods).

I was there Thursday and had good Chaat but the Chana Bhaturas (chickpeas with the deep fried puffy bread like poori) were very very good.

I came home with an order for my partner.  I never come back with Indian food.  Since I cook a lot of it at home.  

Has anyone else been there lately?  How was t he food?

[robert brown]

Suvir, where is this place? Also, did you ever try the dosa place on west side of Lex. around 27 Street? I am always intrigued every time I ride by.

Now I remember a mention of it last fall (Dimple). Maybe it's on 28th St?

[Suvir Saran]

Robert Dimple is on 30th Street between Broadway and 5th.  Closer to 5th,  North side of the street.  Nothing fancy there.  Actually they could really clean up their act.  And then there would be nothing at all to lament about.

Dosa place?  There is Pongal that I love.  It is between 27th and 28th on the west side of Lexington Avenue.  Also Madras Mahal is south of Pongal.  Used to be very good.  But the last few times I ate there I was dissapointed in the food.  It has been over a couple of years since I went back.  So I could well be wrong.  

Which is the one  you are mentioning?  Do you like Dosas?

And yes I think Dimple has been mentioned before.. few times.  It is a fun place.  You can get a great introduction to Indian street foods sitting indoors in NYC.  How fun.

[robert brown]

It must be Pongal, Suvir. I can't wait to try it and Dimple. I have only had dosa here in NY, not in India. The last ones were at Chole and the restaurant they appear to be owners of in Lee, Mass. Thanks for all your insights.

[vivin]

Thanks for the tip Suvir. Will try that out. Ever since Kwality sweets in Jackson Heights closed down, there is no good chaat house that I have been to.

There is a Dimple in Jackson Heights, is there not? Are they the same people. That was unremarkable the last time I went there. What I am looking for is real chaat (not chana bhatura OR Pau Bhaji type stuff).

[Suvir Saran]

Vivin then do not visit Dimple.  Their chaat is poor Bombay version of northern Indian chaat.  One has to have grown up or lived at least for a while in Bombay or even Gujarat to like what they serve.

The Chola Bhaturas have been good though.

The dhoklas used to be very good.  Now they are just good at best.

The Bhel is inconsistent but like Bombay where every street corner has a new recipe.  Having lived in Bombay, I can forgive them for that.  Plus for me it is a change from having to make Chaat for friends and family all the time, at Dimple I am served instead of serving.

The Papri, Gol Gappas, Kachori Chaat are nothing to write home about but again it is the convenience that makes it fun.

I do like the Faloodas.  Again... I am sure one could get better ones in India... but not many options being available I see it as my one and only and so have come around to liking it.

This is not chaat that we in Delhi were lucky to have been spoiled with.  That was Chaat made for a very discerning and tedious lot.  The chaat waalas had to be on their wits end creating great stuff all the time.  And consistency in Delhi was more absolute than I ever saw in Bombay.  Bombay was always more laid back in so many ways and yet so cutting edge in others.  

Since you want that Chaat of Delhi days... I would not suggest a visit to Dimple.  

I go there every other month for my chaat fix without having to make it myself.  I make a lot of chaat at home.  And it is fun.  But I need a day every other month where I can eat someone elses version.  Is that strange?

[anil]

Loosen up folks !! That you get a semblence of chaat in NYC,

and kosher on top, should be a blessing  

Yes, its not Mumbai, or Dilli (just waiting for the fourth city to go native ) and yes, the chaat is made with a gujurati tint....

I still prefer it to anything in the public-transport-accessible tri-state area.

The best time of go to Dimple is in the weekends, around noon -

You get to chat with the ladies behind the counter and get some tips on where to get hard-to-get ingredients.

[anil]

Suvir --

Should,nt this topic be in New York as opposed to India ??

Just asking  

[Suvir Saran]

Should it Anil?

Not sure.... we can add a link to it from there.  Or vice-versa.

And you are right, just getting chaat in this area made by another for you is the treat.

I love  the ladies that make the chaat.  That in itself is a novelty I enjoy.  Maasooma that captain of the three women team is from Bombay.  She makes great instant mirchi kaa achaar when I walk in so my guests and I can enjoy the real Chukee Huee Mirchi that is traditionally eaten with Khandvi and Dhoklas.  The restaurant uses much milder jalapeno peppers for their other guests.  But just as a grandmother would tuck away some special goodies for her favorite grandchildren, Maasooma too keeps a short supply of hot chili peppers for those unexpected visits.

To me going to Dimple is a very fun chore that I indulge in ever other month.  Some times even more frequently.  And I have a friend who visits from Geneva every six months to have a Dimple fix.  He finds the chaat mediocre but the overall experience worth coming back for.

[yvonne johnson]

Robert, Might you have in mind Mavalii Palace? 46 E 29 (b/w madison & park)-679-5535. It's vegetarian, and they do dosas. I've not been there in a wee while, but we used to go fairly regularly. I tend to like thick, heavy sauces, and MP I found on the light side.

[cabrales]

chaat . . . mirchi kaa achaar . . . Chukee Huee Mirchi . . . Khandvi and Dhoklas . . . .

Apologies for my ignorance, but I'd appreciate a very brief description of what the Indian chaat terms mentioned in prior posts in this thread refer to.  

[Suvir Saran]

Cabrales... no apologies necessary.  On the other hand mine are extended to you and others.

Mirchi Ka Achaar - Chili (hot pepper)  Pickle

Chukee Hue Mirchi - Sauteed Chilies (hot peppers)

Khandvi - A snack from Gujarat that is made from a batter of lentil flour.  The batter is then cooked in a wok and poured on a greased platter.  While it is still hot it is spread evenly over the platter to make a very thin layer.  As the layer cools a baghaar/chaunka/tadka (tempered oil with mustard seeds, curry leaves, cayenne, asafoetida, coconut and perhaps other spices) is prepared.  This is drizzled over the cooling layer and then the layer is rolled and some of the tempered oil and very finely chopped fresh cilantro are drizzled on top of the roll.  It is cut into bite sized portions.  And served chilled with a mint and cilantro chutney or even by itself.

Dhoklas are a steamed cake made with lentils or bean flour.  Can be made with or without turmeric.  Thus these spongy very light cakes can be found white or yellow.  They are served with a similar tempered oil as the Khandvi and again served cold. This is also a Gujarati dish.  Dhoklas are often eaten with a quick chili pickle.  And it was for this dish that at Dimple the captain of the women chef team makes me a fresh order of chili pickles as a gift.  These hot chili peppers are sauteed in some oil seasoned with sesame seeds, lemon juice and asafoetida.  It is very hot but a great partner to the very bland and cooling taste of the Dhokla itself.

Cabrales and others if you ever need to know more about spices and other Indian terms, please feel free to ask me or others here.  There are many here that post that know extensively about Indian cooking and the many subtleties that define it from one region to another.

If you need urgent answers and do not get a response soon enough, feel free to check out the link to my own website.  It has a lot of information on Indian cookinng and certainly many of your questions will find answers there.

Again.. sorry for having left these few Indian words unexplained.  I hope I did not keep you guessing too long.

[robert brown]

I am no stranger to Indian food, although next to Suvir I feel like one. I have eaten hundreds of Indian meals ranging from one in a Muslim neighborhood in Delhi to a vegetarian outdoor buffet in Ahmanebad to a feast in the home of a former big-wig exec also in Delhi. Of course there are the Indian meals in Western Europe and the USA that tend to be the sub-continent's version of "Internationale" Italian food. Nonetheless my first visit to Dimple a couple of nights ago was quite unlike any other Indian meal I have ever had. At first I was put off by both the sign in the front window advertising the fact that the food was kosher (no doubt for the garment and textile crowd) and that a lot of the food was sitting in bains-maries in front of the three women Suvir talks about. There are Indian touches in the decor, but you have to look hard to see them. The tables are Formica, if I recall, with caddies holding extra cutlery and napkins at the end of each one. A plainly dressed young Indian lad waited on us in bare-bones fashion. We decided to try a few familiar dishes to establish some kind of a cukinary baseline, and ventured out in ignorance for the others. The menu is so large (close to 100 dishes, maybe even more) that you either have to know your stuff like Suvir does or decide you're going to become a regular hoping that after 20 visits or so you will finally have a good handle on the place.

We began with Dahi Chaat ($5.50) a copious portion of lentil dumplings in yogurt sauce with chick peas and a crunch vermicelli. It was as good as can find in NYC's up-scale Indian restaurants. Alu Chaat ($4.99) there was disappointing to us: The little cubes of potatoes were cold and undercooked. Fafda ($3.50), which are trough-shape sticks of chick pea bread we also found to be bland, although the yogurt sauce (colored golden yellow possibly by saffron?) that came with it was nice and makes a nice dipping sauce for other breads one may order. Paneer Tikka ($6.99) was delicious, it being cubes of white cheese in the same sauce that chicken tikka comes in. The cheese was of a nice soft texture and very fresh tasting.

Although one would guess that the restaurant does not have a tandoor, the butter naan bread we ordered came to us  piping hot, right out of the oven. It was one of the best we ever had; so good we ordered another. To conclude we had what may have been the biggest surprise of the night: a commercially made rashmalai with nuts that was better than many home-made ones we have had in restaurants.

We left as big fans of Dimple. In its bare-bones way it has an honesty, even an authenticity that anyone who has rubbed elbows with the Indian citizenry in the country's every-day restaurants will appreciate. A place like this is what people should mean when they say that New York is the restaurant capital of the world.

[anil]

Robert - The place was previously a Korean BBQ. When Dimple opened, they covered the overhead exhaust, and for a long time even reused the furniture. Lack-of decor, or putting no emphasis on decor indian or otherwise and focusing on food has helped this

place. It is unpretentious. Not all their dishes are top-notch, and

yes ! they do have a tandoor oven inside.

[Suvir Saran]

Robert you write so well.  Thanks for the post.  Very informative.  

And Anil there still are so many aspect of Dimple that say Korean BBQ.  But you also say it as it is by saying it is good but not all things are top notch.  Perfectly put.

I like it for many reasons.  Top being convenience.

[Haggis]

Hi egulleteers.

Today's buffet lunch at Dimple (30th Street just west of 5th Avenue) was so delicious, I thought I'd make it my first post, having recently joined. I eat lunch there once a month on average, and it is always good, but today was one of their stellar moments. For those who have never been, they are a Gujarati Indian vegetarian restaurant, dosa and chat-centric off the menu, but feature curries and dhals on their buffet. Today they had what was labeled S. Paneer. Saag Paneer, one would think - right? Well, there were the tiniest flecks of green in the dish, and I am still not sure if it was spinach, but mostly it was a silken beige with tons of delicious white cubes of homemade paneer cheese. My guess is that the sauce was cashew-based. It tasted of this, and they have had cashew-cream sauced dishes on their buffets in the past. It was the best rendition of saag paneer I have yet tasted, and I can't even say that it *was* saag paneer. Another dish on today's buffet was spinach and peas in a light yogurt sauce. This tasted like a combo of saag and matar paneer, which it practically was, minus the paneer cheese. I am sure Indian food fans already can guess what I did. Yeah, I got some paneer cubes from the cashew based dish, and mixed it in with the saag/matar. One way or another, I was going to have my saag paneer! Though what I had concocted was great, it was still not as good as the mystery dish labeled S. Paneer. Another curry they had was a simple aloo gobi with tomatoes. This was several notches above the usual aloo gobi, and very subtly seasoned. Someone in the kitchen knows how to hold back the heavy spice hand, a trait that all too often can ruin an otherwise pleasant Indian dish. Today's dhal used lentil puree and large whole beans, sort of like chick peas, but the shape wasn't quite that of a chick pea. The large legumes were left al dente, a nice contrast to the creamy dhal. This dish also had, what (for lack of a better word) I would call homemade dumplings in it. Nothing stuffed, but I mean dumplings in the chicken & dumplings sense. The texture was great - had to be homemade, because while they were on the whole soft, they were slightly toothsome as well. This dhal was also somewhat sweet. The overall effect of the dish was savory, but whatever sweetness the dish had worked well. I had two bowls of it. Condiments were outstanding, as always. They offer pale green coriander sauce that is among the freshest tasting you'll find anywhere; a very good tamarind sauce; mixed hot pickles; and a really nice hot sauce that is packed with good heat and flavor. Breads are the usual suspects - paratha and naan. They have freshly fried pappadums as well - greaseless and tasty. Today's dessert was mango bread pudding. A very liquidy pudding, but delicious nonetheless. Price for all of this is a very reasonable $6.99. This brings me to a question I'd like to pose about the service, or, rather, the lack of it. Today, I sat myself (which is encouraged when no one is at the door to seat you) got my own silverware from a tray on the long communal style table, poured my own water from a silver pitcher, also found on the table, and never made any contact with a waiter or bus person throughout the entire meal. This was all ok, afterall, I had everything I needed right in front of me, and I returned to the buffet several times for replenishing. The used plates did pile up, but I just shoved these to one side, as I was the only one seated at this table. When it was time to settle up, I went to the cashier and said "One buffet", paid my seven and a half bucks including tax, and then said to myself: Do I tip, or not? Normally I am a good tipper, they'd get a buck and a half out of me for a total of $9. I have never been one to say "it's just a buffet, WE do all the work! That is nonsense, usually there is much refilling of glasses and clearing of dishes that is done. But as I said, I came into zero contact with any wait person this meal. I ended up compromising and leaving a buck on my table. Someone was going to have to bus it eventually, afterall, even though I wouldn't see who this was. I completely hate the idea of not leaving a tip, but I am wondering if anyone here thinks that if I had not, under these circumstances, it would have been ok?

[Fat Guy]

Thanks for the post, welcome, and your behavior sounds appropriate to me.

[bigbear]

Welcome.

[Liza]

What a grand first post! I was taken with Dimple, too, and will add that for my wheat-intolerant companion, they were most accomodating.

[Steve Plotnicki]

You mean you joined eGullet to ask a question about the morality of leaving a tip at a buffet? Since you claim to eat there once a month, what have you done when you have eaten there in the past? It seems odd that you have eaten there so often and then you describe the goings on as if it's the first time you have encountered them. Tell me, do you usually eat lunch with Hector?

[cabrales]

Steve P -- It appears that the lunch Haggis described was particularly tasty, leading to the description of the dishes taken in prior to the question regarding tipping. In addition, Haggis received essentially no assistance from Dimple's dining room team members on his recent visit, and that issue might not have presented itself previously.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Well I'm not accusing Haggis of being a troll, but I do believe I pointed out a flaw in the story. It's the same type of flaw that "Hector's" stories on Chowhound had. But I must add that if Haggis is a troll, Cabrales has done exactly what Haggis wanted which is to start an unresolvable argument amongst the members of the board. That's what trolls do. I trust that Haggis will reappear on the board and defend the position he/she took. But there is no need for me to have an argument with Cabrales about whether Hagiis is legit or not. Right now there is a question out there about what Haggis did about tipping at Dimple on a "monthly or better" basis? There will either be a good answer and Haggis will be welcomed, or there wil be a bad answer (or none at all) and another troll will bite the dust. But clearly Cabrales nor anyone else here can respond to that question so lets' save ourselves the arguing okay.

[cabrales]

It's the same type of flaw that "Hector's" stories on Chowhound had. . . . But there is no need for me to have an argument with Cabrales about whether Hagiis is legit or not.

Steve P -- I agree there's no reason to argue. I'm not taking a position regarding Haggis' "bona fide" nature; I merely note some potential "benign" interpretations.

[Fat Guy]

Plotnicki, thanks for your crack investigative work. You've saved eGullet once again.

[Haggis]

You mean you joined eGullet to ask a question about the morality of leaving a tip at a buffet? Since you claim to eat there once a month, what have you done when you have eaten there in the past? It seems odd that you have eaten there so often and then you describe the goings on as if it's the first time you have encountered them. Tell me, do you usually eat lunch with Hector? Right now there is a question out there about what Haggis did about tipping at Dimple on a "monthly or better" basis? There will either be a good answer and Haggis will be welcomed, or there wil be a bad answer (or none at all) and another troll will bite the dust.

A careful reading of my post, Mr. Plotnicki, will offer all answers to the above except if I have ever dined with Hector. I don't know the guy, but if he is buying, maybe I'd consider it. You will see that I joined egullet on July 14th, and did not post until July 18th, the day I had the lunch at Dimple. Therefore, it is chronologically unlikely that I joined to post a question about tipping at buffets. Also please note that I specifically said that they usually get $1.50 tip from me for a total of $9. This last time that I ate there, I came into no contact with waitstaff, which had never happened before, and they also served several dishes that I had never had at Dimple. Cabrales is correct - the day in question I felt that Dimple had outdone themselves, and was worthy of a positive posting. I did want to pose the question about whether or not it would have been appropriate to leave no tip that day due to the unusual circumstances, but I did not join egullet for that reason at all.

Have I answered to your satisfaction, Mr. Plotnicki? If so, I am looking forward to being welcomed by you. And thanks for the kind words, Liza.