[Photographs: Howard Walfish]

Burmese food does not enjoy the same popularity in this country as Thai or Indian food. Burma (or Myanmar) is situated directly in between India and Thailand, and the food at Cafe Mingala showcases the best of both cuisines: the freshness of Southeast Asia and the spices of the Indian subcontinent. The Pickled Green Tea Leaf Salad ($8.50) pictured above leans a bit more towards the Southeast Asian end of things, and is one of the most interesting dishes I've ever tasted. In addition to the flavorful vinaigrette (lime, salt, no fish sauce) the salad is a study in textures. Each mouthful revealed a mix of different crunches: crisp shredded tea leaves, fried onions, sesame seeds, roasted peanuts, and toasted lentils. The salad is more expensive than most of the other appetizers, but is big enough to share and tastes good enough to justify the expense.

Some of the other appetizers are cheaper, but taste more ordinary. The Golden Triangles ($4.50) feature a curried potato puree encased in a crispy shell, a variation on samosas. They are served with a sweet tamarind sauce that matches nicely with the savory potatoes.

Chickpea Fritters ($4.50) are overloaded with the smoky flavor of cumin, and taste a little like falafel on steroids. They are served with the same tamarind sauce that comes with the Golden Triangles.

There are about a dozen vegetarian entrees in the $9-10 range, as well as a "Special Vegetarian" section with slightly more expensive dishes. I'm kind of a sucker for dishes with prosaic names, so I settled on Bread & Peas (Peah nun-pya) ($9.95). The yellow vatana peas are so intensely flavorful that they are almost overwhelming. Lucky there's the "bread" part of the dish, fried wedges of what Cafe Mingala calls pita nun bread. As the name suggests, it's kind of a cross between pita and naan, and along with the acid from the provided lemon wedge help cut through all of the spices and seasoning.

I don't know why Burmese food isn't more well-known. Cafe Mingala is one of the few Burmese restaurants in the city, so the fact that the food is actually good comes as a relief. The abundance of vegetarian options makes it a repeat destination in my book, and that's the highest compliment I can pay to any restaurant.

Cafe Mingala

1393 2nd Ave, New York NY 10021 (map)
(212) 744-8008

About the author: Howard Walfish is a Virginia native who has been living in New York since 2003. He is, in fact, a vegetarian, and is the co-founder of Brooklyn-based Eat to Blog.