14 Indian restaurants participate in NYC Restaurant Week

The City celebrates food and friendships – in spite of the pandemic

Have you eaten Beetroot Kofta Curry or Lal Maas recently? How about Chocolate Bebinca or Pear Jalebi – all without traveling to India, right in the heart of New York City?

At a time when few people are traveling, NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2022 may be a fun way to have a gourmet experience without actually traveling to far-off destinations – through your mouth, your taste buds and your stomach! This much anticipated festival is a bi-annual feature and something which defines New York, a city which revolves around food. From small pizzerias to palaces of fine dining, there is an eatery every few feet, and whether it’s the tourism industry or the domestic market, almost everything is connected to the city’s unique restaurant industry.

So it’s a chance to try varied cuisine as over 300 restaurants are participating and they run the gamut from Italian to French to Thai, Chinese and Korean – and of course, Indian food. In the early days of Restaurant Week, hardly one or two Indian restaurants would be part of it – the numbers have steadily grown and this year, there are 14 Indian restaurants offering special menus to New Yorkers at special prices. These include well-known restaurants like Tamarind Tribeca, Adda, Amma, Baar Baar, The Drunken Munkey and GupShup but also the newly opened Sona, often billed as Priyanka Chopra’s restaurant.

There are also neighborhood restaurants in downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn and mid-Manhattan- offering people the incentive to try new places they may not have tried earlier: Madam Ji Indian Restaurant, Masala Mint, Anar, Masala King, Ghandi Indian Café, Om Indian Restaurant and The Indian Table. Many of these are participating for the first time.

The NYC Restaurant Week is a much loved institution, having started in 1992 and is a fun way for consumers to try some of the most exclusive and expensive restaurants too since it’s a prix-fixe program where for a nominal sum people get to taste new and varied menus and cuisines.  NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2022 runs from January 18 through February 13. In early 2021, NYC Restaurant Week To Go was introduced to give the dining industry much-needed support amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most of the restaurants are serving a pre-fixe lunch and dinner which includes several choices of appetizer and entrée and a dessert too for $29 at lunch and $39 and $59 at dinner – even at the most exclusive restaurants.

Dave Sharma is a veteran of NYC Restaurant Week as he has participated in this legendary event for 17 years. He and his wife Anju own Amma, one of the reputed Indian restaurants in New York which completes 20 years in the business. Like most restaurants it went through hard times during the pandemic but its authentic home food has always received great reviews from food critics including atThe New York Times.

Sharma recalls his first Restaurant Week 17 years ago and being a complete newbie in knowing what was involved and how to promote the event. He turned to Floyd Cardoz, the famous but very humble and helpful chef of the iconic Tabla who browsed through his menu and guided him exactly on how to do his selections for Restaurant Week: “This is what you do – it’s very simple!” he told him. Now of course, Sharma has done the event twice a year, for 17 years and knows exactly what to do.

For lunch specials usually restaurants have a small repertoire but for this special event, the choices are sizeable: I went to Amma, and found that for appetizers and entrees you could choose between half a dozen possibilities in each category. Restaurants traditionally give diners a cutting-edge menu and extra treats during Restaurant Week so they can look forward to getting some good surprises and trying new dishes.

Sharma says Restaurant Week helps to bring in new clients because the pre-fixe menu offered is like a tasting menu of all the food offered by the restaurant. “There is a lot of exposure because New York City advertises it so much that people go out and try new places and new dishes which they may not have eaten before.”

So it’s no surprise to see that the NYC Restaurant Week is back – in spite of the pandemic. Omicron has not hit the city as hard as other places and very strict vaccination and masking rules are in place. Diners cannot gain entry without passing this acid test.

Hari Nayak, the executive chef at Sona, has seen the restaurant packed, especially after it was highlighted by NY1 in their coverage of Restaurant Week.  He says, “Typically Restaurant Week is very popular and people have been looking forward to attending. In January we have been offering a lighter fare menu which includes dishes like Bengali Fish Paturi which is a banana leaf-wrapped halibut, pretty much done with no oil, and roasted with a home-ground mustard seasoning. It’s been very popular, as has the Steamed Chicken Poriyal which is basically served on a grilled lettuce, like a hot salad, with a coconut milk dressing. So we’re doing a lot of flavorful Indian dishes that are healthy.”

He points out that very often people who have never tried Indian food come in for the first time. Another big attraction is the deal on full wine bottles during Restaurant Week which bring in new customers who have not tried Sona before. He says, “The cuisine is primal but it’s not just food – it’s a complete experience all around.”

For New Yorkers it’s a fun way of trying new cuisines and new cultures without traveling much further than their own neighborhoods. This year, under the shadow of Covid, New York City is supporting the restaurateurs and subsidizing Restaurant Week so that many more restaurants can showcase themselves to more clients. “I think it’s a good opportunity to introduce our cuisine to many new diners,” says Dave Sharma of Amma. “We should make sure to present ourselves in the best way possible to the crowds. We need them to keep coming back.”

(This article first appeared in my weekly column India in America in CNBCTV18.com)