Things Indian

Little India also known as Curry Hill is an area in New York City centered around the intersection of 28th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. Although this Indian community is not especially large (as compared to the Queens/Jackson Heights area, where the Indian population is now almost 110,000), the small vital area has good restaurants and interesting shops. There’s a saree store (traditional Indian dress) grocery stores and restaurants. It is not unusual to find workers who do not speak English, yet the majority of shop owners do conduct their business in English.

One of the draws to this area of New York City is the smells, cumin and fennel permeate the air from the spice shops and the restaurants. Vegetarian choices are on just about every Indian restaurant menu, and both Madras Mahal (27th & Lexington) or Saravannas (26th & Lexington) get rave reviews. Pongal’s website lets you reserve a table online and Madras Mahal advertize that they are strictly kosher.

An interesting website to get a sense of the area is Neil’s Curry Hill favorites at http://mondomap.com/?mapid=227