Monday, December 22, 2008

Sweet Sixteen on Curry Row

Thibault is beyond birthday parties and has literally outgrown sleepovers with friends in the playroom. We have entered the era of celebrating birthdays by eating out with his friends. This year his choice was Indian and he loved the idea of heading into the city on a Saturday night. A light snow had just started falling as we made the rounds picking up Danielle, then Laura and finally “Laz” before heading to New York. Thoughtful sweet sixteen birthday gifts included a "chrome" trophy emblazoned with “Pimp of the Year” that plays a rap song. I am told that the meaning has evolved over the years and now just means “cool.” Hmmm. We listened to a CD that Thibault had burned for the occasion, enjoying everything from Bob Marley to Notorious B.I.G. Pimptastic.

Dinner was at Mitali East on 6th Street – where else would I risk eating out in such company and where else could we get away with dinner for six for under $150? Truly we could have been at any of the string of restaurants that still line the street and for us it was good, satisfying fare. But for T’s uninitiated friends, it was their first taste of the truly exotic and hopefully an experience that opened by a small crack not just palates but all of the senses.



They started with peppery pappadams and the usual assortment of chutneys then moved on through platters of appetizers and breads followed by a selection of relatively safe main courses (vegetable korma, saag panir, chicken curry, etc.) all washed own with lots and lots of Coke. From what I could tell, the boys ate voraciously and the girls nibbled a bit of everything but filled up on breads and rice. And all of them seemed to thoroughly enjoy the the novelty of a NYC dining experience.

For dessert we headed over to Hafnaoui’s take-out shop, Habib’s Place, a short walk east to Avenue A. As luck would have it, Hafnaoui had just pulled a fresh batch of desserts from the oven. The kids devoured at least three different versions of sticky, sweet and still warm backlava to sustain them for the ride back to NJ!

http://www.villagevoice.com/locations/habibs-place-513113/
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/mitali-east/menus/main.html

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