Hampton Chutney Co.: Sidetrack Sensation

My adventures in New York continue as I had back to MCR for another PB and B before heading out for a night on the town with Catherine and Jorge, or so I thought. As I walked down Prince Street in SoHo, a funky-lettered sign announcing "Hampton Chutney Co." temporarily distracted me. Chutney from the Hamptons? While I pondered this conundrum a patron nearly walked into me as he stepped out the glass door. Noting my indecision, he smiled the smile of a man with a happy stomach and said, "It's really good." With that reccomendation, I made my decision, Hampton Chutney for dinner.

While offering a substantial menu of sandwiches, fresh juices, teas and desserts, Hampton Chutney specializes in South Indian fusion cuisine, particularly dosas and uttapams, which are pancakes made of rice and lentil flour and stuffed with a variety of vegan and omnivorous fillings. The helpful waitress explained the difference between a dosa and an uttapam: a dosa is a thin pancake rolled around a meat or veggie filling and an uttapam is a thicker pancake with the filling on top.

I ordered a chicken curry dosa with arugula and caramelized onions with a side of cilantro chutney, then sat down at one of the bar height copper tables to wait. My dosa arrived on a paper lined cafeteria tray, crispy and delicious, and about 12-14 inches long. The crunchy pancake paired perfectly with poached chicken curry and the cilantro chutney added just the right amount of heat. This may have been my first dosa, but it certainly won't be my last.

Trendy Mexican? Yes, please!

When I hear the words trendy and Mexican used together to describe a restaurant, I usually run in the other direction. Trendy usually means fancy and overpriced, and Mexican food, which can be served elegantly, shouldn't be fooled with for the sake of hipness. La Esquina/ The Corner (106 Kenmare, NY, NY 10012) puts trendy and Mexican together in a surprisingly affordable way--if you know what to order.

For lunch, stay away from the ceviche acapulco (too much avocado and not enough fish, though well seasoned) and satisfy your hunger and palate with a torta, described on the menu as a Mexican street sandwich. To make the torta, cooks at La Esquina butterfly a generous piece of a crunchy french baguette and spread cilantro-lime mayo on both sides before packing the bread full of savory chicken rostizado, avocado and queso fresco, or roasted pork. Lettuce and tomato round out the flavors by adding a crisp coolness to the warm meats or creamy avocado. These hearty sandwiches are accompanied by a mesclun salad with balsamic vinaigrette and a pile of salty homemade potato chips. At under $10.00 each , La Esquina will leave you wanting more trendy Mexican food and the plata to do it.

The restaurant has two faces: the diner-lunch cart look of the ground level and the Gothic-underground lounge of the dining room/ bar in the basement. Make sure you have a reservation as you step through the bouncer-guarded-employees-only door to step through the pristine kitchen into the hopping bar below.

Important Info: Phone Number: 646-613-7100

Hours: Taqueria: 24 hours Cafe: 12pm-12am Brasserie: 6pm-2am

Good Reads and Good Eats

This is my first serious attempt at blogging, if you disregard a brief, misguided myspace stint on running, and it's fitting that it should be about two of my favorite things: Reading and Food. This combination exists in the charming cafe/teahouse at McNally Robinson, Independent Booksellers, conveniently located a few blocks from my temporary pad in Soho. The crisp white awnings provide the first taste of this impeccably clean and well-organized bookstore.

But this is no over-sanitized book selling establishment, the store offers a daily line-up of readings by authors like novelist Carol Hoenig, poet Courtney Queeney, poet Odette Alonso, and memoir writer Judith Lingle Ryan. The store also recently hosted an adults only Harry Potter party (The events and activities of which I'll leave to your imagination, as I did not attend). The book store has an excellent array of magazines and literary journals to satisfy any periodical aficionado.

And now, on to the food. The teahouse offers an assortment of loose-leaf teas served in mini-cast iron kettles with a timer to let you know when the water has absorbed the fragrance of the leaves, as well as the traditional coffee, cappuccino and latte servings. Along with beverages, readers can enjoy an assortment of different scones, cupcakes, and danishes for breakfast or a light snack. If Harry Potter or Anthony Bourdain leave you with an appetite for something more substantial, the cafe offers "bigger bites" in the way of sandwiches and salads that can satisfy the most discriminating palate.

Two of my favorites so far are the melted Swiss and ham sandwich and the open faced warm organic peanut butter and banana sandwich. Coming in at 5.50 and 4.50 respectively, these sandwiches provide a perfect sweet and savory counterpoint to split with a friend. The simple ham and Swiss sandwich gets a touch of glam from five-grain rye bread and herb mustard. The organic peanut butter, although a bit sticky, pairs nicely with a light drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a sprinkling of fresh blueberries. If you are ever in Soho, McNally Robinson makes for a nice break in between sightseeing or the scenic walk between Little Italy and the Village.

* Added Bonus: Any purchase at the cafe gets you access to the bookstore's wireless Internet.