Dil-e Punjab Deli - New York City

I feel like I am in Mumbai picking up food to take to my relatives in Malabar Hills who are out of town and I have to fend for myself BUT I am in Chelsea and since I dont cook this take out/ cabbie stand up eatery is THE choice for simple great food at a great price. 2 sizes lunch or dinner or 6 or 10 dollars. I used to get the dinners but it was a lot of food BUT I ATE IT. NOW I order lunch size because it is perfect for the freezer so I can stock up a few meals for late night eating. Of course...VEGETERIAN....I Love chickpeas...carrots..potatoes...caulflower..dishes over rice. But the real find is the CHAI but becareful they serve it HOT. I TRIED to drink one on the way home one very cold night...but too hot. Now they place in two cups sealed with foil. I warm it up and add extra spices because I like it extra spicey and add splenda and use it as an end of meal special treat. The cabbies are usually collegial and I ask for advice on the nights there are curries. WHAT MAKES THIS SMALL CUBBY HOLE EATERY A FIND: great food...great prices... Everytime I leave I think of my relatives in Mumbai and I leave with a big smile and my soul filled with nostalgia.

After much experience I think the veggie place on east 1st street is the best veggie Punjabi place in Manhattan. These guys have a variety of unappetizing trays out so I got the chai $2.50, 2.5 times the price of E1st) . It was so hot I spent five minutes careful peeling off the lid, terrified of burning myself. The flavor was good but I needed 10 minutes for it to cool so it can be drinkable and as time went by the milk formed a scummy layer on top that made me flash back to the Commie school breakfasts of my youth.

The food was good and spicy! However, I have some critiques. Only one roti bread?? Come on... give me at least two! Half the pieces of okra were inedible because they weren't ripe. And finally, two small Ras Malai (that I watched be scooped out of a grocery store freezer pack) for $4! Outrageous! I'll probably be back but my expectations will be lower.

They delivered a coffee and 2 curries when I ordered and I only got 2 rotis and a coffee (both of which I didn't order).They will mess up your order as they don't seem to care.

Gosh I love this place!!! It felt just like walking into a Dhaba back in India. You walk in and can see the ~8 sabjis laid out to choose from. There are also fresh sweets to choose from with some snacks and masalas lined against the wall. I got the half-plate. It was very fairly priced at roughly $6 and was the perfect amount of food. There's a nice park nearby where I just sat and ate my lunch and read a book! The sabjis were delicious!! I was worried they would be a bit watered down, but they absolutely were not!! The paneer was tasty and well salted. The saag was one of the better ones I've had with the perfect amount of salt and spice. This place really reminded me of home and had really good food. I'll definitely be coming back often!!!