New Yorker

Not too many restaurants in town sell purely vegetarian continental cuisine, so New Yorker came in for considerable attention when it first started. On the crucial question, though, opinion was split. There's a good variety of food, but it is on the expensive side. And yet people come back for more, and if you took a quick poll you'll see they order more or less the same dishes every time.

NY has a few things new and interesting that you're not likely to find anywhere else. They serve Mexican, Italian and Lebanese cuisine, apart from Indian food, pizzas and burgers. Despite its name though, this restaurant will serve you a desi version of any dish you like. Falafels with tandoori paneer stuffing, sizzlers with paneer and biryani rice, and even Mexican tikkis, which are very popular.

Mexican reigns supreme at starters, the nachos with cheese sauce is very good, as are the nachos with beans and cheese filling. The onion rings and American cheese balls also do a good job of whetting your appetite for things to come.

Main-course is where things get confusing. It helps if you know what generally kind of food you're in the mood for. Or you can get the Lunch Platter (Monday-Friday, noon to 4pm) and get a little bit of everything. A typical combination would be something like: half-an-order of onion rings, half a pizza, a half order of nachos and Pepsi. The desi version is: one paneer tawa masala, dal makhni, tawa parathas and Pepsi.

Sizzlers here are good, for a change from the usual try the Mexican Fajita Sizzler, or go Tandoori. If Italian is your thing, then we suggest you make your own pasta. The much recommended lasagna is not very satisfying, and much too spicy. You can make your own pasta by choosing your own bas (spaghetti, penne, macaroni), your own sauce (mushrooms and cheese, hot garlic) and your own topping (Amercian corn, sun-dried tomatoes, buttered garlic).

Go Indian with the kadai babycorn with capsicum, or the achari paneer, with your choice of stuffed paratha - aloo methi, cheese 'n chilli, masala paneer. Or try Lebanese, with Falafel, pita bread pockets stuffed with green salads, hummus and sprinkled with thyme. Subsitute the hummus with tandoori paneer for that fusion twist. They also serve a Jain Falafel, without any root veggies.

If you're only in the mood for a big snack, try the Veggie Supreme pizza, with olives, mushrooms and roasted garlic. This is a mucho-popular choice. Or get the Grilled Mexican sandwich, filled with beans, cheese sauce, salsa and crushed tortilla chips.

For dessert, try the Sizzling Brownie if only for effect. Served on a hot plate with melting scoops of ice cream and doused generously with chocolate sauce, this one's quite a hit.

NY also serves Kiddie Specials, if you have a toddler or are on a diet. The manager confesses that it's their interesting sauces that keep the people coming back. So NY sells the more popular ones, like cheese sauce, salsa and even the hot fudge.

There are, as you can see, a lot of reasons NY is frequently visited. But the price factor is still, well a factor. But if you're particular about how vegetarian your food is, and enjoy experiments of the mix 'n match variety (of which NY does a good job), then you'll drop in again in the not-too-distant future.