As you leave behind the bright noonday sun and enter Pongal, an Indian vegetarian restaurant at 110 Lexington Ave., in New York’s East 20s, a blue cow, signifying that food is the staff of life, greets you. Inside the calm of a temple reigns; the lightning is subdued; the walls’ bricks exposed; and the dark wine-colored carpets mute the sound of voices, which lend a feeling of a holy place of food. Tables are on either side of the walls, which have the barest of ornamentation, again evoking the savor of holiness. The two waiters tread lightly as though they were ethereal beings.
On the times I visited the restaurant, I found a young Indian couple sharing a goblet of ‘kheer‘, while at another table, two Talmudic students with a ‘kippa’ precariously held down with a hairpin, who in between mouthful of ‘thali‘, were arguing the finer points of Jewish law.
Pongal is kashrut or kosher. The restaurant fare is Tamil but the menu offers Gujarti, Madrasi, and Punjabi dishes as well. Food is served on steel round trays on which are artfully arranged small bowls of appetizers, freshly baked bread, hot and cold sauces, and two bowls of rice–one white and the other mixed with chopped spinach. For drinks, still water sufficed.
The food for western taste has barely a hint of the spicy. [For Indian or Pakistani or Bangladeshi customers, the kitchen may make the dishes more piquant to the palette.] The dishes are moderately priced, ranging from $3,95 to $9.95. I chose the combination platter, the better to sample a variety of regional cooking.
My tongue discovered nothing worthy of culinary veneration: the chickpeas bland, the cauliflower watery, chappathi cold and lumpy, the lentils without character, the eggplant oily, and the mixed vegetables indistinguishable. The basmathi rice was cooked right, and the rice with spinach had little character.
I was expecting something more, something tangy with a good bite, and was disappointed. Pongal is not exceptional in the fare it offers the public. As rabbinically certified, it has carved out a niche market for itself, but it is not ‘Shomer Shabbos‘, meaning that it open everyday of the week.
Waiters are attentive and discreet. The piped in music is a mix of traditional Indian and modern Western pop.
Let me mention the bill: it includes a 15 percent tip. Pongal accepts all major credit cards. The restaurant seats around 80.
It sounds like an interesting restaurant in terms of culture.