This is the only picture I have of my meal from Tiffin Wallah, and it’s not even something I ordered. Usually that would be a bad thing – in this case it’s fucking amazing.
I’m not the biggest fan of Indian food, but lately I frequently find myself in that little area in the high 20′s on the East side of Manhattan that perpetually smells of curry, and I had to succumb to the smell. My first destination was Tiffin Wallah – a decently priced yet very nice looking spot near the corner of E. 28th and Lexington Ave. I cheated on this one – I didn’t actually eat there. But in the five or so minutes I was sitting around waiting for my order, they managed to impress me perhaps more than any restaurant’s service I’ve been to since I’ve lived in this city, save for the guy at the Italian spot next to the Blind Barber in Alphabet City the other night who laced me with some free food for no good reason at all.
See, I ordered one of their weekend specials to go – the Curried Fried Rice (their version of Chinese fried rice with onion, carrot, cabbage, bell pepper, soy sauce, & spice, $9) and sat down like usual near the back to wait for my food. The guy brings me my check. It’s cheaper than the price listed on the menu. No complaints there, that’s for sure. And then it got better.
They brought me that big ass mango lassi in a wine glass. Not as a mistake. They plopped it down and said “here, while you wait.”
SAY WORD.
I love a good mango lassi. LOVE. I drink that shit like it’s water. Can’t tell me nothin’. It’s like Low Key to Egg Nog. And to get one free of charge?!?!? Man, that’s the key to my heart. That, and Mobb Deep over Alchemist beats.
So in a nutshell, I spent a dollar less than what I had planned to spend, and walked away with a free beverage on top of that. WINNING.
But how was the food? Well, it was amazing enough that I forgot to take a picture. They employed basmati rice as the weapon of choice in this Indian version of fried rice, and it had a spicy kick to it, yet not overwhelmingly so. It’s served with a yogurt sauce that cools the spice to a pleasant summertime level, and it has veggies and amazingness in there. I had leftovers for the next day, too, which is nice. It wasn’t overly greasy or anything. The whole thing was just…pleasant.
Their service is top notch. Eating there would be dope too, because it’s a really cool looking spot (painted shades of cool greens and shit, or something, I don’t know, this was like a week ago and I have a terrible memory), and of all things they were playing Dancehall in the restaurant for Sunday evening dinner. Didn’t make too much sense to me either but I love Dancehall, so I ain’t mad at that.
Also important to note – they have an all you can eat lunch buffet. Now, because I suck at taking pics, feast upon these that I stole borrowed from Tiffin Wallah’s Yelp page.
Tiffin Wallah, 127 E. 28th St., New York, NY
