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“Bombay Talkie”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Indian	Chelsea	Moderate	Good

With the recent opening of Devi, and the continued greatness of places like Tamarind and Tabla, the high end of the Indian fare spectrum in New York City continues to impress (and to cause me to eat way too much rice and naan). Bombay Talkie, a cool, modern duplex that is an ode to the glory of Bombay’s streetfood and teahouse cuisine, falls somewhere in between the lofty goals of places like Devi and Tamarind, and the simple, more authentic tandor joints of 6th Street, like Brick Lane Curry House. But with walls lined with wild, colorful oversized canvases of reproduced Bollywood movie posters, flat screen tellies playing Bollywood’s best, a global beat soundtrack mixed by Grammy-nominated producer Andres Levin, and a long communal table where flirty jewel-toned cocktails ease neighbors into close conversation, Bombay Talkie is certainly the most chic Indian haunt to open in recent memory. It is filled with a fun, fizzy energy that is infectious. I would compare it to an Indian version of Sushi Samba; you can almost taste the next locations in Miami, Chicago and LA.

The menu at Bombay Talkie, created by culinary consultant Jehangir Mehta (the pastry chef from Aix, who grew up in Bombay), is divided like a culinary road trip between Street Bites (apps), From the Roadside (entrees), and Curbside (sides, naan, rice and vegetables). Jehangir’s pal and Aix chef and sommelier Didier Virot has selected a modest wine list that pairs up nicely with the menu. The hook at Bombay Talkie though is that all wines come in at one (gentle) price point only—$7 per glass and $28 per bottle.

We started with Street Bites and found these to be the best section on the menu. Kathi Rolls ($7 each)—sort of like thin burritos—were terrific. Warm flaky flatbread wrapped around cylindrical meatballs of spicy, mint-accented lamb, or sweet and sour bits of moist chicken, are served with a pair of raitas (yogurt based sauces)—one heated up with pink peppercorns and the other sweetened with shredded coconut. Dosas ($8 each) arrived in large, lacy semicircles and were torn into with little restraint, topped with white and red coconut chutneys, and polished off quite quickly. We loved the one filled with a peppery coconut and mustard seed chicken, but there are others that impressed as well, like the one stuffed with tart minced lamb. The Papdi Chat ($5)—crispy and delicate flour purses the size of golf balls—are stu ... [more, click below]

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Posted: January 30, 2005

Other restaurants in Chelsea :
+ Matsuri   + La Bottega   + Tia Pol   + Bombay Talkie   + Cookshop   + D'Or Ahn: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Buddakan   + Crema   + InTent: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED   + Trestle on Tenth   + Klee   + El Quinto Pino   + Socarrat   + Txikito   + Co. (Company)   

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