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(Finally) Introducing Tashan From Tiffin

Jim Adair — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:50:14 +0000

Way back last June, we told you about the 777 South Broad location set to house the newest Tiffin invention, but since then, all has been quiet on the Tiffin front. But early in September, that spot, the newly-named Tashan, finally opened.

Tashan’s Executive Chef Sylva Senat and Indian Master Chef Sanjay Shende present Tashan’s “inspiring small plate menu based on authentic Indian flavors with wide ranging global culinary influences.” The early word is pretty excellent and you can see a full menu over here.

In addition, Tashan presents a pretty impressive $7 Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 5:30PM to 7:30PM featuring select menu items, craft beers, wines, and cocktails for $7.

Mumbai Bistro Opens On Wednesday

Juliana — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:38:18 +0000

This is a neat idea for those of us who want more creative fast food. Kyle, Rick and Josh Saini (brothers) are opening Mumbai Bistro is opening on Wednesday. It’s Indian food on the quick and cheap (and not that bad for you). If this spot is successful the Saini’s plan is to open a few more in the Philadelphia area over the next couple of years. It’s going to be a buffet-type deal where you pay by weight (4.95/lb) with some vegan, some vegetarian, and some meat dishes as well as naan and lassis made to order. There’s some seating but it’s meant to be a takeout place. They are keeping our clogged arteries in mind by using trans-fat free soybean oil instead of the standard ghee (thanks, Saini bros.) Since it’s doubtful that any of you are going to shovel down more than a pound of Indian food in one go, the place looks like it’s worth a peek.

Photo courtesy of Meal Ticket.

Mumbai Bistro, 930 Locust St., 215.418.0444

Going Wild at the Desi Chaat House

Juliana — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:17:04 +0000

While many would-be restaurants are taking to the street in the form of food trucks, the Desi Chaat House is taking Indian street food inside, to a peculiar-looking flat-roofed orange building on the corner of 42nd and Baltimore. Draped with Christmas lights, the storefront’s bright green lettering promises “Mild to Wild.” It could be a wacky Mexican joint. Or some sort of fetish store. But inside, you’ll find old-fashioned glass bottles of Limca and Thums Up (Indian versions of Sprite and Coke), ice cream with a special touch (all their flavoring syrups are homemade) and dozens of open glass containers of what storeowners Hasan and Syed Bukhari call “the crunchies.”

Chaat’s hard to explain but we’ll give it a shot. It’s a mixture of savories: Sometimes chick peas, peanuts, lentils, potatoes and definitely a combination of those “crunchies” (we’ll be straight and admit that we still can’t pinpoint what they are. Some are sweet, some are salty or spicy. Ask Hasan or Syed to try some and they’ll be more than happy to hand you a sample plate.). Add some yogurt, tamarind-date sauce, some chutneys and some hot sauce and green chilis (if you’re choosing “wild” over mild), and you’ve got chaat. There are endless chaat options and it’s cheap like street food should be — your average chaat is $5.99, $6.99 for chaats with meat.

It’s served cold and no-frills in a plastic tupperware container and honestly, it looks pretty unappetizing. But take one bite and you’ll get it. Chaat’s an orgy of flavors and textures and even temperatures (in Samosa Chaat, the samosa is served warm, while the rest is cold), not quite like anything we’ve ever tasted. The portions are hearty and filling. Also try Pani Puri, hollow balls of crispy fried dough that you’re meant to poke holes in and fill with a chickpea and potato filling. It’s served with a cup of spice water (“Good for digestion,” Syed says), which you’re meant to sip after each ball of fried dough you eat. Tasty, but only if you’re into putting a little effort into your meal. If not, stick to the chaat.

The Chaat House is also a trove of hidden Indian desserts. Get the traditional Gulab Jamun or Lahori Kheer (rice pudding) here but an insider’s secret: unadvertised is Soen Papri and the restaurant’s assorted ice cream specialties. A unique combination of sweet and a little spicy, Soen Papri is made of chickpeas, cardamom and cucumber seed, and it melts in your mouth, strangely enough, like cotton candy. The Bukharis will also prepare sundaes for you, consisting of ice cream, sweet “crunchies,” one of their special sauces (the caramel sauce is mad good) and fruit. Or get a conventional banana split.

“Whatever people like, we’ll make it,” Hasan says.

So don’t be afraid to ask.

Other important things to note: There’s minimal outdoor and indoor seating, so you might want to take it to go. Ask for extra hot sauce if you’re into it. And if you’re a Facebook fan, you get a free cocktail (Bukhari-style: thick, sweet and seemingly alcohol-less).

Desi Chaat House, 501 42nd St., 215-386-1999

Team Tiffin Taking The Lead In The Ongoing Tandoori Take-out Wars?

BrianW — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:18:57 +0000

Let’s face it – a debate among Phoodies in this town over Ekta vs. Tiffin will never end with a decided winner. Maybe not for long, though. Via both Restaurant Club and The Insider, Philly is aflutter about the Tiffin folks’ plans to partner with Dranoff Properties’ 777 South Broad to open a decidedly non-delivery Indian food spot down at Broad and Catherine. The main event at the so-far-unnamed restaurant features an open kitchen with custom-built, traditional Indian cooking apparatus, including a tandoor (that clay oven thingy that makes the crazy-good red chicken legs), a sigri (kind of an Indian barbecue grill), and a tawa (or tawah or tava, which seems to basically be a giant cast iron skillet). This is inherently awesome already, since most of us have probably only seen our Indian food in Philly magically appear on a buffet table, in a to-go carton, or at best on a dinner plate from an actual waiter. Supposedly each of the 110 planned seats will have a view of the tricked-out open kitchen, so it’s practically a (Bolly)wood-fired dinner theater jawn. Now who can resist that? Keep your peepers peeled for a winter opening.

Meet South Jersey Restaurant Week, Perennial Bridesmaid Of Restaurant Weeks You Actually Care About

tips — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:44:32 +0000

We know what you are thinking: “Gosh, I’m so intrigued by the groundbreaking cuisine of South Jersey eating establishments, but I wish there was a way I could learn about it all inexpensively (and preferably with lots of crying babies in the background)?” Fear not, Hunger-er Of Knowledge: South Jersey Restuarant Week is back next month! Now, to us, “South Jersey Dining” means but three things: Weber’s on the way to Cherry Hill Mall, THE PICKLE BAR and the mighty, amazing, insanely good Sagami. Now, none of the aforementioned places are on the list of participating venues, but a lot of the new-er, more talked about and tonier Haddonfield and Collingswood spots are — so it’s worth taking a look. Like Philly resto-week, you get four courses for $35 bucks and the eternal dread of your server. But it’s usually worth it. SJRW takes place from Sunday, March 22nd through Friday, March 27th.

Palace At The Ben Rolls Out “Tapas” Menu

tips — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:00:44 +0000

Recession Fever, we fear you, but we also love the many gifts you’re about to drop on us. Case in point: Palace At The Ben‘s new “tapas” menu, loaded with cute little Indian dishes we want in our bellies STAT. All are less expensive than regular appetizers, and slightly smaller portions — but great for sharing. Menu after the jump.

Tapas
Non-Vegetarian
$7.95
Chicken Tikka
Marinated chunks of chicken breast roasted in charcoal oven
Murg Malai Kabab
Chunks of chicken breast marinated in ginger, garlic and green chili paste delicately backed in a Tandoor oven
Chicken Kathi Roll
Indian version of an American wrap
Tandoori Chicken Quesadilla
Prepared Indian style

Sautee Seekh Kabab
Ground lamb marinated with herbs and spices, then broiled on skewers over charcoal in a Tandoor oven, sautéed with onions and spices
Vegetarian
$6.95
Samosa Chana Chaat
Vegetable Samosa topped with chickpeas, onion, tomato and coriander
Ragda Pattie
Potato Patty topped with special lentil, onion, tomato and yogurt
Makki Kumbh Bonda
Kernel Corn mixed with mashed potato, lightly spiced and fried golden brown
Methi Panir Tikki
Homemade cheese and fresh chopped fenugreek leaves delicately spiced and fried to perfection
Vegetable Kathi Roll
Indian version of an American wrap

Papri Chat
Dice potato, chickpeas and home made chips mixed with tamarind chutney and yogurt…served cold

Palace At The Ben, 834 Chestnut St. (267) 232-5600

All-You-Can-Tiffin for $8.50

CEF — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:52:06 +0000

Lost in all the Ektalove is our old flame Tiffin. Sure, she’s not as new as her younger sibling, but the brilliant minds behind The Big ‘E’ got their starts at Tiffin. Truth be told, you can never have too many good Indian spots in one city.

As the winter bears down upon us with schizophrenic weather patterns, our need for brunch stays constant. Tiffin is offering All You Can Eat Brunch starting December 20th for a whopping $8.50. And this is table-side service, son. Buffet has it’s place, but not within the walls of Tiffin. As always, they’re hardcore BYO, which means get the bubbly and waste your day. They will offer brunch on both Saturday and Sunday, but only at their NoLibs outpost. Sorry, Mt. Airyans.

Included dishes are as follows: Indian specialty entrees, appetizers, tandoori grilled kebabs, chutneys, rice and fresh breads, and desserts. We can feel the naan and parantha, can’t you?

Tiffin, 710 W. Girard Ave. 215.922.1297

Tiffin In Your Office Food Court? Fo Sho’

CEF — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:45:15 +0000

Subway, Burger King, and…Tiffin? This news couldn’t have come at a better time for those heading back to school and the rest of you relegated to avoiding cold weather and staying put for lunch food. Currently serving in the Temple Law School Cafeteria, the good folks at Tiffin plan to expand to their new ‘Grab N Go’ menu to other schools and food courts.

Launch menu includes classic sandwiches with evolved tastes like the Chicken Tikka Deli Wrap, as well as traditional Indian fare in the form of Saag Paneer and Chicken Briyani. With the average price around $6 and a Pistachio Rice Pudding dessert, we think this is a grand idea. If you’d like to see Tiffin ‘Grab N’ Go’ at your place of business, shoot them an email. It’s either that or a footlong Meatball Sub made by your favorite Sandwich Artist. Take yer pick.

Takeout Of The Gods: Ekta

tips — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:04:04 +0000

For people who run a food blog, we have to be honest here: Sometimes we put the grossest stuff into our bodies. So after a week in which we got the meat sweats not once but twice, today at lunch we finally decided to go the meatless route. We figured we’d been sleeping on Ekta — the new Indian takeout/delivery place in Fishtown headed up by ex-Tiffin chef Raju Bhattarai — entirely too long, and ordered a few veggie dishes. And boy, were we right — about sleeping on Ekta too long. For $20, we had one of the best lunches in recent memory: Saag aur paneer (homemade cottage cheese with spinach over rice), alu gobi (cauliflower, potato, onion, tomato and herbs, also over rice), onion naan and vegetable samosa. All of it, exquisite — not too spicy, but not weak in the least, either. “Dignified” might be a good way to put the temperature — and in fact, the whole meal. As one friend said to us recently by way of recommending Ekta, “It’s like they fixed everything that was wrong with Tiffin — from the meals being consistently tasty to the spiciness factor to even the delivery time.” Now, we’re not trying to get in the middle of a flame war between Ekta and Tiffin, but you know what? If push comes to shove, we think we know who we might be rolling with.

Ekta Indian Cuisine is located at 250 E. Girard Ave. 215-426-2277 for take out or delivery.

Free Dinner On Your Birthday Courtesy Of Tiffin

CEF — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:46:13 +0000

Our favorite Indian restaurant Tiffin has two bits o’ news, good and bad. The bad news: Tiffin’s new Mt. Airy location opening has been postponed until Thursday, July 24th. If you know somebody, though, there’s a Friends and Family dilly-o the night before, an informal affair of sorts. Nope, we can’t get you in. Hell, we can’t get in.

The good news: The Tiffin Card. It’s free as can be and offers you the following: 10% discount on anything in the upcoming Tiffin Spice Store, 10% discount on the Tiffin and a Movie program, monthly discounts and special offers, priority call ahead seating (they don’t take reso’s, this is the closest you’ll get), and FREE DINNER ON YOUR BIRTHDAY. All you gotta do is fill out the app online and they will add your name to the database. Don’t need to mention it after that, all discounts and swag will be automatically applied when you order. Tiffin, you always were Mom’s favorite.