Maharaja Gatsby
On our way back from the nerdiest trip, ever, we hopped off the Long Island Rail Road station at Woodside and made our way towards Jackson Heights, where I wanted to return after an anticlimactic outing the night before to a run-of-the-mill buffet at Indian Taj (not necessarily bad, but not a place I would make a one-hour train ride for).
On the other had, I've never been disappointed with the fare at Maharaja Quality Sweets and Snacks, a little vegetarian chat shop just off the bustle of 74th Street. On my past trips there, I've been especially partial to the samosa chat ($5), a nice combination of crunch samosa skin, tangy yogurt, soothing mint, and wicked hot pepper. This time around, we opted for the malai kofta ($8.50), which was richly nutty, and the navrattan korma ($8.50), which came in a cream sauce that was a little thinner than I had hoped for. The poori ($1.50 each), a very thin, two-layered wheat dough that is fried so that it puffs up, was a great surprise, coming out hot, savory, and delicate yet springy. The two of us had plenty left over for lunch.
I will say one thing about Indian Taj, though. While we were there, I saw a 150-pound woman eat a plate of food about the size of a basketball without so much as coming up for air. Dinner *and* a show--now that might actually be worth a trip.
Maharaja Quality Sweets and Snacks
73-10 37th Ave. (map)
Jackson Heights
(718) 505-2680
On the other had, I've never been disappointed with the fare at Maharaja Quality Sweets and Snacks, a little vegetarian chat shop just off the bustle of 74th Street. On my past trips there, I've been especially partial to the samosa chat ($5), a nice combination of crunch samosa skin, tangy yogurt, soothing mint, and wicked hot pepper. This time around, we opted for the malai kofta ($8.50), which was richly nutty, and the navrattan korma ($8.50), which came in a cream sauce that was a little thinner than I had hoped for. The poori ($1.50 each), a very thin, two-layered wheat dough that is fried so that it puffs up, was a great surprise, coming out hot, savory, and delicate yet springy. The two of us had plenty left over for lunch.
I will say one thing about Indian Taj, though. While we were there, I saw a 150-pound woman eat a plate of food about the size of a basketball without so much as coming up for air. Dinner *and* a show--now that might actually be worth a trip.
Maharaja Quality Sweets and Snacks
73-10 37th Ave. (map)
Jackson Heights
(718) 505-2680
posted by Dave Lee at 10:40 PM
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