New York: Dhaba

It may be surprising to some that Indian cuisine is not something I know a whole lot about. In fact, it wasn’t until about two years ago that I began to actively pursue good, authentic Indian food. Admittedly, my prior knowledge on the subject had been limited to the dishes I’d had at the homes of my Indian friends in grade school (as good a start as any, I suppose) and the small town Indian buffets I sometimes frequented in college (a step down, to say the least). It was the memory of the great Indian food that I’d had intermittently as a child that prompted me to renew my quest to find the flavors and textures that had so fascinated me in my youth – the onion-y dense bread studded with potato that my friend Arati used to sneak to me from her lunch box under our desks in the third grade; the array of curries that I once found myself staring down during dinner at a classmate’s house in middle school.

Enter Dhaba, a dimly lit Punjabi restaurant in New York’s Murray Hill/Flatiron neighborhood, dubbed Curry Hill due to its abundance of Indian restaurants. Its modern ambiance and high-decibel crowd don’t exactly scream authenticity but let your eyes adjust to the darkness and you’ll see that the noisemakers are mostly Indian families and couples, not inebriated Wall Street brokers and anorexic scenesters.

Mango lassi

Navratan korma: paneer, fresh vegetables, pineapples, nuts, creamy almond sauce.

Tawa aloo gobi: potatoes, cauliflower, onions, tomatoes, tawa masala

Dhaba’s dizzyingly varied menu offers everything from the familiar to the unpronounceable. Yes, you could order chicken tikka masala, but please don’t - greater pleasures are to be found in the unknown. Try the navratan korma, a paneer (Indian cheese) dish stewed with vegetables, pineapple and nuts in an almond cream sauce. This isn't a dish I would have ordered myself, but I'm glad my companion did - the sauce was thick and naturally sweet from the pineapple and stewed vegetables, the paneer the perfect blend of firmness and creaminess with a mild milky flavor. It stood in stark contrast to the paneers I've had in the past, where the texture of the cheese so often approximates that of a waterlogged sponge. Or opt for the tawa aloo gobi, a medley of potatoes, cauliflower, onions and tomatoes in a pungent tawa masala spice blend.

Bhuna lamb mirchwala: thick onion tomato sauce, garlic, garam masala, green chilies

Murgh makhni (butter chicken): roasted chicken strips, bell pepper, creamy tomato sauce

For the carnivorous, lamb is a wise choice. The bhuna lamb mirchwala features chunks of lamb in a fiery sauce of onions, tomatoes and garam masala. Texturally, the lamb in Dhaba's curries are a mixed bag - some tender and fatty, others tougher, less favored cuts - but all flavorful. When it comes to spice, Dhaba (admirably) refuses to relent to the frailties of the Western palate - spicy here means spicy. For those who insist on playing it safe, the murgh makhni (butter chicken) is a good bet. Pleasantly tangy and creamy with the occasional undercurrent of heat, it's the girl next door of curry.

Garlic naan

Aloo pea paratha: leavened bread, spiced potato, peas

Tandoori chicken

However, Dhaba is not without its weak spots. During both visits, Dhaba's bread failed to impress. The generous amount of minced garlic on the garlic naan imparted an overpoweringly bitter flavor to the bread, which lacked the airy, springy quality I have come to expect from naan. An aloo pea paratha's stodgy texture detracted from its otherwise enjoyable potato and pea filling. I took bite after bite, waiting for some vestige of flakiness to show itself, but it never did. And the tandoori chicken seemed to serve an almost perfunctory purpose - moist and well-seasoned, but certainly not a standout dish.

Still, Dhaba's curries and vegetarian dishes are deliciously thick and expertly seasoned, and the mango lassi is outstanding. Visit just once and you will feel the urge to return in order to sample more of their extensive menu. The best strategy at Dhaba is to take on the unfamiliar. Chances are, you will be pleasantly surprised or, as in my case, find what you were looking for all along.

Dhaba

108 Lexington Ave.
(between 27th St & 28th St)
New York, NY 10016

Phone: (212) 679-1284

Best dishes: Curries, vegetarian/vegan dishes, lassi

Hours: Mon-Thu 12 pm - 12 am; Fri-Sat 12 pm - 1 am; Sun 12 pm - 10:30 pm

Things to know: $9 take-out lunch specials on weekdays; $10 lunch buffet Mon-Sat; $12.95 lunch buffet on Sundays

Chicago: Hot Doug's

I've waited in many a long line for sustenance in my lifetime. Forty-five minutes at Clinton St. Baking. An hour-and-a-half at Northern Spy. Two hours at Shopsin's. I'm no stranger to the gut-wrenching hunger, the continually dashed hopes each time the hostess calls out a name that isn't yours, the resentful looks from your dining companions who are undoubtedly questioning why they ever decided to befriend you.

Then I went to Hot Doug's. No companions, no hostesses, no overwhelming hunger. The thirty minute wait in the ever present line out the door of this self-proclaimed "sausage superstore" should have been a breeze. What I had not counted on was the mind-numbing, balls-to-the-wall Chicago chill. In November. Five minutes into the wait, I suddenly yearned for a buddy to clutch onto for warmth, or a scantily clad hostess I could direct my misery-fueled sadism at. You dare withhold hot dogs from me? At least I'm allowed to wear a coat, skank!

But alas, there was no hostess behind the modest brick facade - only Doug and his bevy of cheerfully efficient cooks and servers. Doug Sohn is a man obsessed with the wiener. If this isn't obvious from the collection of cute sausage paraphernalia lovingly arranged in the glass counter or the various wiener witticisms jotted on the walls ("There are no finer words in the English language than 'encased meats', my friend."), it is clear from the quality and craftsmanship of the brats, wursts and other tubed meats that Doug features on both his permanent and daily menus. There is no question that you can get a great Chicago dog here, but the real draw at Hot Doug's is the variety of specialty sausages that are available on any given day - taut, snappy casings stuffed with everything from the standard pork or chicken to the more exotic kangaroo, alligator or bison. And then there are the toppings, which are often equally as inventive and unexpected: blackberry mustard, double cream Brie, coconut flakes, plantains.

Specials Menu

Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel

I began my meal with one of Hot Doug's most acclaimed offerings (and a permanent fixture on the specials menu): the foie gras and duck sausage dog. Often times, a lowbrow dish that attempts a high-end reincarnation by way of a barrage of lavish ingredients ends up being underwhelming and gimmicky, or sickeningly overwhelming. Not at Doug's. The luxurious duck flavor of the sausage, the delicate richness of the foie gras mousse and the tempered tang of the truffle aioli operate in perfect tension with one another. The duck sausage is absurdly juicy and tender, with a faint but noticeable snap. Doug's hot dog buns are in a league of their own. Densely chewy but soft (think a more pillowy French bread), they are just as much a part of the show as the meat and toppings, and unlike regular hot dog buns, don't deflate into a mushy mess against the surface of the dog halfway through eating.

Wild Rice and Asiago Cheese Bison Sausage with Roasted Yellow Pepper Mayonnaise and Irish Porter Cheese

That week's Game of the Week was a wild rice and Asiago cheese bison sausage, topped with roasted yellow pepper mayonnaise and Irish Porter cheese. This dog assaults your senses with its depth and complexity. The bison sausage was dark and smoky, with a thick and snappy casing that lends a delightful texture to the dish. But it is the visually arresting beer-veined Irish Porter cheese that makes this dog. It perfumes the meat with its hoppy piquancy before dissolving into an intensely flavorful creamy emulsion in your mouth.

Duck fat fries

In addition to regular fries, Hot Doug's offers duck fat fries every Friday and Saturday. Perfectly crisp on the outside, they shatter into potato-y shards upon each bite, revealing a creamy, mealy interior. In short, probably some of the best fries I've had to date. They even managed to retain their winning texture after they had cooled off.

I have to admit that I questioned the greatness of Hot Doug's at several points along my lengthy journey to this fabled wiener joint. For instance, when I was walking along a lonely stretch of road after taking a city bus to the middle of some small freak-ass suburb on the outskirts of Chicago.

Or when I was freezing my boo-ha off in line behind a Chicago hipster with pungent beeswax-laden dreadlocks.

Thankfully, the line doesn't lie. It's worth the trek.

Hot Doug's

3324 North California

Chicago, IL 60618
Phone: (773) 279-9550

Hours: Mon-Sat, 10:30 AM to 4 PM. Closed on Sundays

Best dishes: Hot dogs, specialty sausages, fries.

Things to know: Cash only; duck fat fries only on Friday and Saturday; specials change daily

Mike's Halal Cart

Halal carts are ubiquitous in New York, particularly in neighborhoods like Midtown and the Financial District, where a halal cart might be found on all four corners of a single intersection. That's a lot of street meat. How is one supposed to distinguish between the good and the bad? There are, of course, those that have achieved widespread fame (Chicken and Rice at 53rd and 6th, Kwik Meal), and others get by on a combination of word-of-mouth, loyal cult following and food bloggery. I found Mike's thanks to the latter, and was sufficiently intrigued by the promises of real grilled lamb (not a Kronos gyro cone) to pay them a visit.

Mike's is the little halal cart that could. Simple and nondescript (I wasn't even sure I was at the right cart until I saw a small stack of business cards perched on the ledge of the cart emblazoned with "Mike's"), this cart dishes out one of the best halal platters in the city.

The first thing you'll notice is the white sauce. Unlike the white sauce at most other halal carts, which often look either like runny mayo or ranch dressing, Mike's white sauce sits majestically on top of the platter in snowy, stiff peaks, the key indicator of the thick tangy yogurt that comprises it. It tastes different too, like a beautiful, rich tzatziki, with an underlying grassiness reminiscent of goat cheese. The second thing you'll notice? The tender chunks of grilled lamb, boasting veins of unctuous fat interspersed throughout the meat that bombard your taste buds with a fierce, lamb flavor. At one point, I actually began to wonder if Mike had run out of lamb that day and substituted a particularly delicious cut of pork. There was little gaminess to the meat, which only intensified my confusion. It didn't help that I was in the throes of street meat ecstasy at the same time*.

The chicken at Mike's exhibits similar tenderness and flavor, but the star here is the lamb. Both rest on a bed of exceptionally fluffy rice, infused with hints of curry and coriander. Everything tastes fresh, and the quality is on par with what you would get at a fine Greek or Middle Eastern restaurant. Indeed, your senses may be fooled into thinking you are dining at such a restaurant, until you see the white expanse of your now empty Styrofoam container, and you realize, with a slight jolt of disbelief, that your supreme contentment can be attributed to two ordinary men, doggedly grilling meat, trying to earn a living out of a little cart on the corner of South and Wall.

*After my initial post, I was informed by several law school classmates that in places devoid of food carts (a.k.a. uncivilized America), the term "street meat" is used to refer to prostitutes. Let me just clarify that I was not in that kind of ecstasy during my lunch. But hey, you learn something new every day.

Mike's Halal Cart

Corner of South St. and Wall St.

New York, NY 10038

Num Pang Sandwich Shop

This casual outpost of the Cambodian restaurant Kampuchea serves up creative and delicious num pang (Khmer for 'bread' or 'sandwich') sandwiches out of a cramped space in the Union Square neighborhood. If you like banh mi, you will love these. Each sandwich is made a la minute, on lightly toasted Parisi Bakery bread and topped with cucumber, pickled carrots, cilantro and chili mayo. The shop offers ten different kinds of sandwiches, which change seasonally. The choices encompass a variety of meat and seafood, including the ever-popular pork belly and pulled pork, skirt steak, catfish and coconut shrimp. Some respectable vegetarian/vegan options are also available.

Roasted cauliflower sandwich with Chinese and Thai eggplant spread and soy milk chili mayo: I love eggplant. I love cauliflower. I love them so much that on my first visit, I bypassed all the porky, beefy sandwiches for this vegan option (a rare occurrence). As far as meatless sandwiches go, this was fairly decent. The smoky, creamy eggplant mingled with the chili mayo and lent the necessary moisture needed to bind the sandwich into a sum of its parts. It also counteracted the crunchier texture of the cauliflower. The roasted cauliflower was good, but some additional seasoning prior to roasting would have propelled the sandwich to greatness. Further roasting might have helped bring out the caramelized sweetness of the vegetable as well.

Hoisin veal meatball sandwich - basil, stewed tomato, jasmine rice: One bite into this, I vowed to never again try and be a friend to the animals. Despite the stifling heat of the upstairs seating area and the fact that my thighs were painfully stuck to the plastic seat of my stool, I completely lost myself in this sandwich. The well-spiced, moist meatball, with hints of star anise, melded with the rest of the ingredients to create a harmony of sweet, savory, tangy, spicy and creamy. The bread, soft and chewy, with a lightly crisped exterior, only highlighted the perfection of the sandwich. The stewing of the tomatoes had coaxed a natural, juicy sweetness out of them, providing both textural contrast and an additional band of flavor. This was one of those dishes I felt like I could eat forever.

Watermelon juice: Cold and refreshing, with fairly good watermelon flavor. My only complaint is that the juice contains sizeable chunks of watermelon, forcing me to sip and chew at the same time. It was not as good as the watermelon ice that you can get at Chinese bakeries, which are blended with ice (making it easier to drink) and taste much more like sticking a straw in a watermelon.

Blood orange lemonade: I'll just repeat what I heard a chatty customer in the shop say about this drink: "It's sour, bitter, sweet and salty all at the same time." I don't think he meant that in a good way, and I don't either.

Beverage missteps aside, Num Pang's sandwiches truly hold their own amidst the throes of the Asian sandwich craze. The next time you want a no-holds-barred, sriracha-running-down-your-palms, silence-at-the-table gustatory sandwich experience, make your way to Num Pang and let your senses take over.

Num Pang Sandwich Shop

21 East 12 St.

(between 5th Ave. and University Place)

New York, NY 10003

Sit-in dining available upstairs, take-out and delivery also available.

Best dishes: Sandwiches

Il Laboratorio del Gelato

The only thing little about this gelato shop on the Lowest East Side is its size. Il Laboratorio del Gelato garners long lines (particularly on a hot summer day) and delivers even bigger flavors. Situated across the street from the Tenement Museum, ILDG specializes in gelato and sorbet, in both traditional and avante garde flavors, made in small batches to maintain the artisanal quality of its product. Although ILDG has concocted approximately 200 flavors since it opened in 2002, only about ten or so are available each day. The daily flavors change regularly.

Earl grey tea gelato and lime sorbet: ILDG's gelato is intensely flavored and perfectly creamy. Nothing mars its milky consistency. The earl grey gelato captured the subtle flavor of a cup of properly steeped tea and amplified it several times over. Why can't afternoon tea just be a cup of earl grey tea gelato and scones? The lime sorbet was icy cold and refreshing. It is not as smooth as some other sorbets but it somehow seems right - the slightly chunkier texture seemed to suit the in-your-face tartness and brightness of the lime. Accenting the piquancy of the sorbet was the faintly sweet aftertaste that crept up upon me as each spoonful melted away. Tiny shavings of lime peel are peppered throughout. I had been worried that the two flavors together in the same cup would be unpalatable but they were surprisingly complementary. The tart-y sweetness of the lime seemed to pick up right where the astringent, tannic tea flavor had left off.

I sampled two other sorbets before ordering, including yellow watermelon and honeydew melon. Both showcased the flavors of the fruit extremely well, although I found each just a tad too sweet for my liking.

ILDG is for the gelato and sorbet purist. No cute decorations, no mix-ins - just small, modest tubs of gelato and sorbet that are unadulterated expressions of their namesake flavors. ILDG's willingness to experiment with unusual combinations and the superb quality of its ingredients make it one of my top picks for gelato in New York.

Il Laboratorio del Gelato

95 Orchard Street

New York, NY 10002

Mercadito Cantina

Admittedly, New York is not a hot spot for great Mexican food. A quest for the authentic Mexican flavors that can easily be found on the West coast will usually take you on a trek to the farther reaches of Queens or Brooklyn. Those who stay in Manhattan, determined to get their fix, will often find that indulging in a quality Mexican meal on the island will set them back quite a bit. Mercadito Cantina falls into the latter category. However, the caliber of the food at this tiny but inviting East Village restaurant makes the $20-30 price tag worth it for this deprived New Yorker.

Guacamole - traditional and camote (cinnamon spiced sweet potato, roasted jalapenos, toasted pumpkin seeds). The Camote's autumnal spin on guacamole rounded out the sharp, summery flavors of the lime and avocado nicely. The result was a dish I wouldn't mind having as comfort food on a wintry day. Mercadito's chips are great as well.

Chipotle guacamole: pineapple, pickled chipotle, tomatillo pico de gallo and mint. This is what pineapple salsa would be if it decided to be guacamole for a day.

Pescado tacos: tilapia, chile poblano, tomatillo-garlic mojo. How can something so simple be so good? As someone partial to Baja-style fried fish tacos, I was skeptical when the New York Times declared Mercadito's seared tilapia rendition one of the best in the city. After one bite, I was a convert. You won't miss the fried batter with these fish tacos. The skin of the tilapia is seared to a perfect crispness; it provides a great contrast to the creaminess of the avocado. The skin was also seasoned to just the right degree - enough to accent the tartness of the tomatillos while still allowing the clean, delicate meatiness of the fish to shine through.

Carne tacos: hoja santa marinated grass fed skirt steak, salsa verde. Another winner. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and the assertively beefy flavor of the meat was almost a shock. The salsa verde counterbalanced the subtle richness of the beef.

Tacos al pastor: ancho-guajillo marinated red snapper, grilled pineapple. Mercadito's aquatic riff on this traditionally pork-oriented dish won my favor as well. The fish was fine-textured and flavorful, and stood up well against the sweetness of the pineapple. Mercadito does a good job of taking lowly cuts of meat and fish and elevating them to great heights in their tacos. I recommend going with a friend and sampling several different tacos (the tacos come two or three to an order - don't bring too many friends).

Hongos y huitlacoche: wild mushrooms, fresh huitlacoche. The combination of both the mushrooms and the huitlacoche (a.k.a. Mexican truffle) resulted in an incredibly earthy dish with a deep mushroom flavor. However, this dish suffered from a bit too much salt.

Mercadito Cantina performs on almost every dimension, making it one of my go-to restaurants. The service is incredibly friendly and accommodating. I dined at the restaurant on a chilly, rainy day and both the bartender and the server offered to close the doors and the windows so my companion and I wouldn't be cold. The staff didn't even seem to mind when we changed tables twice in an effort to avoid the draft coming in. We ended up at the bar, where Giovanni, the bartender, told jokes and made sure we were taken care of for the evening. He even had the servers turn up the lights so that I could get better pictures of the food. (Thanks, Giovanni!) The decor is simple and pleasant, not overly trendy, and it is the perfect place to catch up with a friend or have dinner with a small group.

So until I can reside on the West Coast for an extended period of time like our Californian friends and partake in Mexican food snobbery everywhere I go, I will gladly be returning to Mercadito Cantina again and again for their delicious fare.

Mercadito Cantina

172 Avenue B

New York, NY 10009

(212) 388-1750

Reservations accepted - the need for reservations increases the later in the evening you want to dine.

Best dishes: Guacamole, tacos

Special deals: All-you-can-eat taco Mondays for $23; all-you-can-drink Sunday brunch.