New York City’s latest citizen is Acclaimed Houston chef Anita Jaisinghani and she isn’t arriving alone. She is bringing her famous Pondicheri restaurant with her which is known for its stuffed paranthas, rotis, chaat salads and curries to 15 West 27th st.
On her opening day, Jaisinghani’s restaurant had a light opening day which included breakfast, lunch and signature pastries. An upscale restaurant won’t be open until mid-August but that shouldn’t be a problem for thousands of Americans who want to taste Jaisinghani’s delicious food before then.
Jaisinghani has been nominated in the past for two James Beard nominations in Texas for her upscale Indian restaurant Indika and Pondicheri, a bakery and easygoing restaurant. Pondicheri’s team is made up of Nikhil Kumar and Scott Jech along with Jaisinghani.
The mouth-watering menu at Pondicheri New York consists of breakfast roti wrap with masala eggs, a stuffed paratha, and a rice and almond pancake with cardamom. If you liked the breakfast menu, the lunch menu sounds twice as enticing! It includes more stuffed rotis, various selection of curries, and many salad options such as the warm harvest salad which is made with roasted radishes, green masala paneer, snap peas, squash and a toasted cashew cumin dressing.
Lovers of pastries will be able to buy pastries all day from Bake Lab such as pista scone which is filled with pistachio and blueberries. Vegans will also be able to enjoy Jaisinghani’s baked good with gluten free and vegan options such as quinoa muffin and an almond cake madeline.
Pondicheri is a 5,000-square-foot space and according to Jaisinghani’s daughter Ajna Jai, “It’s a big bar. We’re from Texas.” Guess it’s true that everything is bigger in Texas. Let’s hope the pastries are big too!
Customers can sit back and enjoy a chai tea or grab breakfast there or go there during their break and enjoy quality Indian food.
“I want people to feel just as comfortable grabbing a cookie sitting down as getting a whole lunch,” Jai says. “I don’t want it to be like ‘You’re taking a table.’ I want it to be a place where New Yorkers feel like they can hang out.”
