It’s only 9:30AM, but I’m already hungry after reading the New York Times’ article on Indian Restaurants in New York. The piece is about the expansion of vegetarian offerings, in counterdistinction to the usual North-Indian meat-focused cuisine typical of Indian restaurants. But equally it’s about the increasing popularity of regional Indian food. “More than ever,” it claims, “New York’s Indian restaurants exist to provide desis - Hindi for countrymen - with authentic tastes of home, instead of presenting a predictable repertory of Northern-style kormas and biryanis to outsiders.” And, given the existence of higher-end bistros serving Gujarati or Southern Indian fare, there seems to be a move to make regional cuisine trendy as well.
To which I say two things: 1) it’s about time; and 2) can Boston please follow New York’s footsteps? Sometimes the “regional” fetish seems silly, like a superfluous affectation among diners wanting to seem more knowledgeable than they are. But certain cuisines (Indian and Mexican come to mind) have been stifled by a favored version standardized by American ethnic restaurants for reasons that seem historical accident as much as anything else. A focus on regional food avoids the sometimes dodgy notion of authenticity (there’s nothing wrong with trying to refine food preparation for restaurant dining) yet opens us up to new words of flavor.
Perennially, I’m frustrated by the sameness of Indian restaurant menus, and by the way they don’t seem to match the way that Indian (or to be precise, South Asian) meals are eaten: there should be bread or rice with the meal but rarely both (and there is a logic for pairing the starch to main dish), vegetarian meals are often constructed around multiple vegetables - or vegetable-dal pairings - not a single vegetable as entree, and relishes and yogurt are generally not afterthoughts or appetizers but an integral part of the meal. In the effort to match Western restaurants’ appetizer-main dish-side setup, something gets lost.
That said, I should point out that there are stirrings of regional Indian in some Boston restaurants. The North Indian stalwarts like Bombay Club or Bukhara add dosas and sambar to their offerings. Bhindi Bazaar (sadly overlooked by local diners) is more comprehensive in its regional sampling, as is Tanjore in Harvard Square. But some of the best in town is also the cheapest: Punjabi Dhaba in Inman Square is no-frills dining but is excellent food.
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