Dimple

[tommy]

i'm still baffled about the 1.50 tip. wouldn't 2 just seem easier?

[=Mark]

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.

Don't worry about Steve, attacking newcomers and declaring them Trolls is just his way of saying welcome! Sort of like hazing in a Frat. Consider yourself honored.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Haggis - Welcome aboard and don't take it personally. My apologies if you were offended. And by the way, I am the wheat intolerant person Liza was referring to. And next time, leave more than a buck and a half. They do a good job there.

[SobaAddict70]

I really must go to Dimple one of these days....

Its really soooooo difficult for me to find a place that strives to serve something different than the usual mix of northern Indian/cross-bred Pakistani or quasi-Bangladeshi-Indian food that seems to permeate NYC and elsewhere....

I think I know of a total of two places that actually have vegetarian cuisine....and that's not saying a lot since those two places don't possess a quality of diversity as found at Dimple. One is Amma, across the street from my apartment, and the other is this little place across the street from Goldman Sachs, right in the heart of the Financial District. Can't remember the name though, but they serve a killer Baigan Bharta (sp; eggplant curry with a cream-based sauce) and cabbage masala (curried cabbage and peas).

Sounds like a project this weekend for me....assuming I can get away from the office.

SA

[Kim WB]

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.

OK,

IF you didn't accuse her of being a troll, then you implied it by the Hector comment. So you started it, as usual. I don't know troll, I don't know Chowhound, actually amongst all this food knowledge and great writing, I don't know much. But I do know that you are really quick to put down people, really quick to accuse people, and you use a lot of paragraphs when just a few will do.

This site is amazing, full of information and great opinions, very often yours included. But enough already, sometimes its not a conspiracy, its just a post describing a good meal, and a service question...that's all, no ulterior motives, no Scully or Mulder or lone gunman.

While those of you with great food savvy bring e-gullet to its highest level, it still needs to be comfortable to a person who just wants to share some comments about a good meal.

[Beachfan]

Any other comments on the quality of food at Dimple? I can earned 1.7 thousand brownie points by bringing my wife there.

[tommy]

Any other comments on the quality of food at Dimple?  I can earned 1.7 thousand brownie points by bringing my wife there.

i've been there, and i felt the service merited a solid 1.70 tip. on all occasions. but, as some might suggest, i'm a millionare.

[note: that was all for my amusement and mine only...and yes, i've just amused myself, but probably not anyone else.]

[Suvir Saran]

Beachfan,

Dimple is very humble in setting. The food is great for street foods from India. The restaurant is not what one would go to with a date or even to celebrate any special occasion. You will be happy being there with a spouse or a date if you really wanted to experience just a good food place.

Order Chaats there. These are dishes on the first two pages of the menu. They are prepared by the women behind the counter in the front half of the restaurant.

You can look at the Dimple thread in the Indian forum for more details.

[anil]

Any other comments on the quality of food at Dimple?  I can earned 1.7 thousand brownie points by bringing my wife there.

I agree with Suvir, it is a nice chaat place. I do not know how it is during weekdas or evenings, but on weekend 'noons, it is quiet and extra attention is paid to humble folks like us

[Peter B Wolf]

Any other comments on the quality of food at Dimple?  I can earned 1.7 thousand brownie points by bringing my wife there.

i've been there, and i felt the service merited a solid 1.70 tip. on all occasions. but, as some might suggest, i'm a millionare.

[note: that was all for my amusement and mine only...and yes, i've just amused myself, but probably not anyone else.]

Tommy, You never fail to amuse me, even when you try to kid yourself.

Just explain what is a "hayseed", I mean, hay is only dried grass, and there is seed for that. Explain. Unless this falls in the category of "unique", like me growing "home fried potatoes on the vine"

[Simon Majumdar]

I was fortunate enough to have the estimable Suvir treat me to lunch in Dimple on my recent business trip.

With his guidance, we sampled some excellent Chaat. The samosas I ordered off my own bat were not so good.

I agree with Suvir, this is hardly a date place. Women being so shallow and all, they need much more spangle and glitz ( lights blue touch paper and stands well back )

S

[=Mark]

Tommy, You never fail to amuse me, even when you try to kid yourself.

Just explain what is a "hayseed", I mean, hay is only dried grass, and there is seed for that. Explain. Unless this falls in the category of "unique", like me growing "home fried potatoes on the vine"

From Merriam webster:

Main Entry: hay·seed

Pronunciation: 'hA-"sEd

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural hayseed or hayseeds

Date: 1577

1 a : seed shattered from hay b : clinging bits of straw or chaff from hay

2 plural hayseeds : BUMPKIN, YOKEL

[marcus]

Any view as to how Dimple compares to Madras Mahal which has been my favorite, much better than Pongal and Mavalli, of these Indian Vegetarian types?

[Haggis]

Any view as to how Dimple compares to Madras Mahal which has been my favorite, much better than Pongal and Mavalli, of these Indian Vegetarian types?

Depends on what exactly you want to compare. I will attempt to run the gamut for you, because I have dined regularly at both establishments, both for their lunch buffets and a la carte. If we are speaking about the staples of South India, such as dosai, utthapams, medu vadai, etc. the nod goes distinctly to Madras Mahal. Each of these made to order dishes are tastier and crispier at MM. In addition, MM often features medu vadai and pancake-sized utthapams on their lunch buffet. The quality of these on the buffet suffer only somewhat as compared with when they are made to order. MM also has better coconut chutney, and better sambar, the traditional accompaniments to these dishes. Dimple has better and more interesting curries and dahls. These taste not only fresher, but more expertly prepared than MM. Sometimes MM's curries can suffer from what I like to call Indian Buffet Syndrome, meaning the seasoning can seem identical or overlapping from one dish to another, which is not to say that any one dish on its own tastes bad. It is, rather, to say that Dimple seems to take more care in planning contrasting tastes within their array of curries. Dimple, since it does not offer items which require sambars and coconut chutneys on their buffet, only have these two accompaniments when the appropriate dish is ordered a la carte. But the rest of the condiments they offer, compare favorably with MM, and a few are superior. Their coriander sauce, for example, is much fresher tasting, and they offer a very good tamarind sauce, where MM offers a date chutney in place of this on their buffet. Breads and papadum seem to be equal in both establishments, with Dimple offering full-sized papadums on their lunch buffet, whereas MM offers mini chip-sized papadums. I like to use these mini ones to sample the various condiments between bites of other dishes. Desserts leave Dimple with a distinct advantage, they are, after all, part sweet shop. But even the offerings on their buffet are of higher quality than MM's, which can be a bit cloying. Last, but certainly not least are chats. I have never had one at MM, so I can't compare. But at Dimple, they are superb. These are only available a la carte, but sometimes when I am there for a lunch buffet, I will order one of these to begin with, anyway. I do this because Dimple offers virtually no appetizers on their buffet. Try a simple alu chat, or one of their more complex special bhels. You can't go wrong with any of them, and they are expertly seasoned with yogurt, mint, spices, etc. right in front of you by lovely Indian ladies who really know their craft.

[lizziee]

Women being so shallow and all, they need much more spangle and glitz ( lights blue touch paper and stands well back )

Simon,

Did you really think you could get away with this comment! Bah Humbug!

[Suvir Saran]

Marcus as very well explained in the post above, Dimple is not t he place to go to for South Indian foods. Madras Mahal is the place to go to for Dosas and Idlis and Utthapam. But if you want South Indian foods... I would prefer going to Pongal. Actually I think Vivin said that he recently had a nice meal at Mavalli Palace. So, if you prefer South Indian foods, go to Madras Mahal since you prefer it to the others.

Dimple is best for Gujarati foods. And especially for chaats. The street food dishes they have are as good as one can find outside of homes in NYC at least. If you go to the Dimple thread in the Indian forum, you can learn more about Dimple and their foods.

Marcus, what do you like about Madras Mahal over the others you mention?

[marcus]

Haggis -- Thank you for your entirely convincing explanations and clarifications. I will definitely try Dimple. I have never liked the Gujarati dishes at Madras Mahal and over time I stopped ordering them and they no longer exist in my view of the restaurant. I had also tried Vatan, another Gujarati restaurant and not liked it at all and had, undoubtedly erroneously, lost a view of that food as interesting. You have definitely renewed my interest.

Suvir -- I am personally convinced that MM is significantly better than Pongal and Mavalli. MM and Pongal have essentially identical menus and a couple of years ago I went with some friends to both restaurants on the same night and ordered the same dishes. I don't remember all, but it included a Dosai and a chickpea curry. In every case, all agreed that MM was substantially better on every dish. However, Pongal does have better decor and service. Mavalli is a restaurant that has been around for a very long time and seems to be in decline. The last time I went there less than a year ago, I said this is the last time. I particularly remember the Iddly which at MM is light and fragrent and at Mavalli was heavy and without taste.

[Suvir Saran]

Marcus the chickpea curry you had at MM or Pongal is not really South Indian. And would be far better at other restaurants in the city.

I would love to have a conversation with all our members that are interested on the South Indian fare that you can find at MM, Mavalli and Pongal.

Maybe you want to start a thread in the Indian forum... and we can debate what each of us thinks works best at each of these restaurants.

I used to be a huge fan or MM. I will try and go there this weekend. So I can make a more educated assessment of them. Or at least more current. MM was my favorite Southern Indian restaurant for a long time.

[Suvir Saran]

Pani Puri - I must say the Pani (spiced water) is one of the best I have had in NYC.

The dish is prepared Bombay style. For those like me who were raised in Delhi, it is different in that the condiments are different. They are also not as spicy.

But overall, I do think they do a good job with this dish. And it is consistent. Actually it is difficult to not be accurate with this dish. Not much you can spoil with experimentation.

Does anyone else have the same reaction do Dimples Pani Puri?

PS: Pani Puri is a deep fried whole wheat ball that is served on a plate with a glass of mint green water with spices in it. It comes with a tamarind sauce, a serving of ragda (white peas), some lentils and potatoes. You fill these into the balls by making a small opening on one side. You then dip the stuffed ball into the spiced water and eat it all in one go. It is a street side dish that happens to be one of my favorite.

[Fat Guy]

I was waiting to see the direction this thread would go in before chiming in with a recommendation on whether or not to move it to New York. I figured it was either going to become a thread about chaat in general, or it would focus on Dimple. As it has focused on Dimple, but has some general information about Chaat, I'll move it to New York and leave a link on the India board. This India board defies easy subject-matter categorization because it is really the Suvir board and his expertise and the discussion he triggers is part India (probably the smallest part as we have not yet attracted a sizeable user base in India), part New York (a slightly larger part), part Cooking (the majority), and part lots of other stuff. So we try to make it work as best we can within the larger framework of the site, but it's always going to be a judgment call. One of these days we'll have to subdivide our Cooking forum and at that time perhaps we'll create an Indian Cooking forum. That wwould make sense.

[Suvir Saran]

Steven,

I believe you have had Pani Puri...

Any thing to say about this strange dish???

[Fat Guy]

It's a great dish because it hits you with an unfamiliar array of contrasts. I can't think of another dish off the top of my head where you bite into something hot and crunchy and then there's a cool liquid center. Plus there are all the condiments that go inside before you pour in the water. I notice you said "dip" but the Indian guy who showed me how to do it poked the hole, spooned in the various condiments, and then poured the spice water into the opening to fill the rest of the way. Then you pop it in your mouth in one bite. I hope I'm thinking of the right dish.

[Suvir Saran]

It's a great dish because it hits you with an unfamiliar array of contrasts. I can't think of another dish off the top of my head where you bite into something hot and crunchy and then there's a cool liquid center. Plus there are all the condiments that go inside before you pour in the water. I notice you said "dip" but the Indian guy who showed me how to do it poked the hole, spooned in the various condiments, and then poured the spice water into the opening to fill the rest of the way. Then you pop it in your mouth in one bite. I hope I'm thinking of the right dish.

You are thinking of the same dish...

The Indian guy that served you may have been worried of hygiene...

Maybe next time, ask them to be a true street food vendor...

What else did this Indian vendor share with you?

What other street foods did you eat.. or you remember...

Does anything come to mind when thinking of Dimple and Chaat? What makes it different for you....

Did you enjoy the Falooda? That drink they serve at many of the Chaat places.

[Fat Guy]

Falooda is that pink ice cream sundae with gelatinous worm-like noodle-ish things in it? Yeah, that's good. I mean, like all the Indian sweets I've ever had it's off-the-charts sweet by my standards. Cloying is overused restaurant-reviewer's adjective I'm looking for. But sweet works with spicy, as does creamy, so in the right context it's enjoyable.

One think that's superb at Dimple is that flat pancake thing with the hot peppers in it. What's that called?

[Suvir Saran]

Falooda is that pink ice cream sundae with gelatinous worm-like noodle-ish things in it? Yeah, that's good. I mean, like all the Indian sweets I've ever had it's off-the-charts sweet by my standards. Cloying is overused restaurant-reviewer's adjective I'm looking for. But sweet works with spicy, as does creamy, so in the right context it's enjoyable.

One think that's superb at Dimple is that flat pancake thing with the hot peppers in it. What's that called?

Aah... so you like Uthappam I see. It is a Southern Indian pancake. Wait till you try it at Hampton Chutney. Ask the chef to make it with hot chiles... it is the best you can find in NYC... or even Pongal would be great for these. It is hard to go wrong with Uthappams. But certainly a sour batter and the perfect toppings can make all the difference.