Tiffin Wallah

Tiffin Wallah (127 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016)

"Tiffin Wallah translates as - one who carries the box. Tiffin is an old English word for a light lunch, and also the name of the multi-compartment metal lunch box that carries it. Tiffin Wallahs originated over a century ago when the many Indians working for British companies disliked the food served at work. Tiffin service was created to bring home cooking to the workplace."

It can be pretty difficult to top the Indian buffet lunches in Jackson Heights, Queens, especially at Jackson Diner and Bombay Palace, but Cafe Drake hands the (bejeweled) crown over not to Gramercy Park's Tiffin Wallah, specializing in the Southern vegetarian cuisine of India. A far cry, stylistically, from typical Indian excess, the rather minimalist dining room is all pale ivory, shiny chocolate brown and summery kelly and deep emerald green; from rectangular dining plates and gleaming modernist flatware to pressed white linen napkins, Tiffin Wallah suggests a boutique hotel breakfast room more than a gaudy carnival (though we love that decorating approach as well; just need a break from it sometimes).

Arrive early as the place is small and justifiably popular, with tables hard to come by and wait times rather long. Recently Cafe Drake nabbed a prime spot near the steam tables and tucked into, among other delicacies: an unusual combination of chickpeas in a cream sauce with cubes paneer; a buttery biryani studded with whole spices and veggies; perfectly cooked split yellow lentils threaded with spinach and curry leaves; roasted potatoes tossed with pan-fried okra and mustard greens and silver-dollar uttaphams (savory Indian pancakes made from rice and lentil flours) awaiting the full treatment of onion and date relishes, mint sauce and coconut chutney. Dessert was a cornmeal-coconut cake, so rich and dense and moist, more akin to a bread pudding.