Stand on the corner of 28th and Lex, take ten steps in any direction, and you're likely to pass at least three or four Indian lunch specials. But few are as sophisticated (or as filling) as you'll find at the recently opened Bhatti Indian Grill. There's no buffet to be seen in the sharp, modern dining room. Bhatti's focus is on kebabs, cooked over an open-fire grill of the same name, and they take center stage in the lunch special: for $9.95, or $7.95 for vegetarians, you get rice, naan, a chicken curry (or three veggie sides), and all the kebabs you can eat—plus dessert. Better yet? It's actually tasty.
Lentils are never very photogenic, are they, but these were mouth-tender and nicely spiced.
Ditto the mellow, crispy potatoes, which Erin described as "Indian home fries"...
... and the chana masala, chickpeas slow-cooked in tomato and onion.
For the meat-eaters, the lunch special rotates each day, so regulars won't get palate fatigue. But you can expect two meat dishes, like the spiced, incredibly tender yogurt-marinated bhatti da murg...
... and the garlic-ginger murg ka khaas tikka. And if all this didn't fill you up? Just ask for more—the lunch charge lets you order as much as you want.
The vegetarian option, called bhunney aloo ke kulhey, is a nicely browned, hollowed-out potato stuffed with a blend of paneer, spices, and khoya, threaded on a kebab with peppers and onions. In a bright mint chutney, it's a nice play of sweet and sour.
Both come with naan, of course, naan as fluffy, doughy, and addictive as any I've come across...
and plenty of steamed basmati.
Lunch doesn't end on a strong note; the mango ice cream came out ice and unattractive, not worth more than a bite or two. But by the time it arrives, you'll likely be too satisfied to mind.
Bhatti Indian Grill
100 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10016 (map)
212-683-4228
bhattinyc.com
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