Tag Archives: indian

Apr5

Delhi Heights: 37-66 74th st, Jackson Heights, NY

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Known as the place in NY to get great Indian cuisine, this street in Queens is filled with one lunch buffet after another at super low prices. We checked Yelp when we arrived in the area and saw that just about all of them have 4 stars, so we figured we just try the first one we saw. Delhi Heights advertised a $10 AYCE buffet and had hardly anyone in there, so we decided to head in.

About 10 silver bowls with lids and ladles lined one side of the restaurant and we checked them out before taking a seat. The waiter brought out fresh, hot nan and water in little silver cups and told us we could dig in.

I filled my plate with little tastes of just about everything that was offered. Amazing spinach paneer with huge chunks of cheese, mushroom masala, chicken tiki, lentils, peas, and basmati rice. I used the nan to scoop everything up and before long was totally stuffed. The food is absolutely incredible and at $10, a true bargain. I suggest you take the trek out to Queens to try it for yourself.

Feb14

Saffron Garden: 304 E. 78th st. NY NY

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I crave Indian food just a few times per year. It’s not really my favorite, but once in a while I get an intense hankering that just won’t go away until I satiate it. Today was one of those days. It just so happened that I was walking past Saffron Garden, hungry and with a craving, and I noticed a Groupon Now deal for pay $6 for $10. As luck would have it, they have a $9.99 lunch special advertised in their window. It was fate indeed.

It was an empty restaurant, which wasn’t off-putting given that it was 3pm,  kind of a weird time for a meal. I sat down and was given a vague idea of what the lunch special included. Frankly, I didn’t really care. I asked if spinach paneer was an option, which it was, and looked forward to whatever else the lunch included as a surprise to come.

It began with a delicious hot and crispy potato/pea samosa with a side of chick peas and the 3 classic sauces that I love. One is a chopped onion mix in a red sauce, one is mainly cilantro and herbs (yum) and one is a sweet brown sauce. I wish I knew more about these and what is in them, I just know they are the common trio at most Indian restaurants and I’m definitely a fan of putting them on everything I’m served.

Next came a basket of naan, a dish of basmati rice, and a dish of spinach paneer. Everything was surprisingly delicious, especially the chunks of cheese in the creamed spinach- YUM. The naan was a bit over-cooked and crispy instead of soft and chewy, but it was great anyway and made a great vessel for my spinach and sauces.

The service was a bit lacking, very slow and he hardly spoke any english. It was also a problem that the waiter TOTALLY didn’t understand how Groupon works- he actually kept saying no no no, it wasn’t good except for dinner- but I showed him that it said clearly that it was valid from noon until 9pm. He persistently asked for my phone number so that his boss could call me later. I insisted that they’d need to speak with Groupon instead and wrote down my coupon number on my check for him. It was a bit annoying, but not a big deal, and certainly not a reason to not return.

If I do end up craving great Indian food at an extremely reasonable price, I will most definitely go back and I’ll probably try ordering delivery in the near future. The rest of the menu looks quite appealing and tempts me to branch out from my normal choices. Mango shrimp? Perhaps next time.