NY Dosa Cart

NY Dosa Cart - Washington Square Park (W. 4th and Sullivan) (Sri Lankan)
Nominated for the 2007 Vendy Awards, this street cart is famous in the west village - and much loved by the NYU crowd. Manned by Thiru Kumar, the cart specialty is dosas, accompanied by a handful of snacks/extras (such as vegetable rolls, Jaffna patties and Pakoda.) Thanks to its popularity, the lines are quasi-long, but the food is well priced (only $5.00 for a decent sized dosa). Fresh off the griddle--and pleasantly fluffy--these babies do hit the spot. And as an extra bonus, they're vegan!

New Sunshine Restaurant

New Sunshine Restaurant - 3 Corson Avenue, Staten Island (Sri Lankan)
A few doors away from New Asha, New Sunshine has a much more polished look. Rich colored red and gold tablecloths, and even a TV in the front. It's still a small space, but very, very friendly, with several things on the menu that aren't available at New Asha. For instance, the desserts Wattalapam, and Yogurt and Treacle. Recommended! (Although, so is New Asha...)

New Asha Sri Lankan Restaurant

New Asha Sri Lankan Restaurant - 322 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY (Sri Lankan)
The only place to get Sri Lankan around these here parts is Staten Island - the Manhattan locations are gone, closed. So far, I have only been to New Asha once - it was small and geared to cafeteria takeout (rather like Sripriphai, the Thai restaurant in Woodside.)

During my visit, I got a curry that was standard, but tasty. For $6.50, the portion was huge (good enough for my husband and I combined). But what I'd really come for were the hoppers and the puttu. Sadly, I found that they're only available in the evening (they take awhile to prepare.) So warning - if you're going anywhere for Sri Lankan, make it for a dinner. That's when everything's ready to go!

Sigiri

Sigiri - 91 1st Avenue, NYC (Sri Lankan)
Finally - a Sri Lankan restaurant in the midst of Manhattan. This one's a keeper.

Reaching Sigiri is simple. Walk along Curry Lane (6th Street in the East Village), dodging restaurant wranglers along the way. Continue past Awash., past Mara's - taking a right at the 1st Avenue Junction. Halfway down the block, a tall flight of stairs lead upwards--under a simple black awning--to a narrow, stylishly decorated dining room. You have now reached Sigiri. Prepare to be pleased, by both the service and the food.

All the traditional staples are available at Sigiri. Comprehensive and complete, the menu offers a full sampling of Sri Lankan cuisine. For those comfortable with Indian fare, Sigiri serves up a full selection of curries (spiced to Sri Lankan tastes), and familiar items such as Mulligatawny soup. For the more adventurous, truly exotic (and uniquely Sri Lankan) items await, including coconut flavored Pittu, bowlshaped Hopper pancakes, and Shredded Kotthu Roti. For those with a sweet tooth, the mango cordial is a must, as well as a full coterie of authentic desserts available for the end of the meal - including Watalappam pudding and Aluva fudge. There's no Americanized ice cream here - thank goodness for that!

The service is equally good - pleasant, warm and welcoming. A gracious man, the owner spoke with me at length on my first visit, explaining the difference between black and coconut curries, willingly converting my dish from chicken to vegetarian - and went so far as to print up microwave directions for the Lamprais dish that we had ordered to go. Now where can you get service like that?

Even if you could...why bother? Because Sigiri already awaits. And it feels like home.

Nirvana Cafe

Nirvana Cafe - 218 3rd Avenue (off 19th) (Sri Lankan)

Last weekend, I found myself walking along 3rd Avenue - strolling southbound towards Astor Square. For once, the target wasn't food related. With Halloween--and the requisite parties--only a few weeks away, I was headed towards the megastore known as Halloween Adventure, in search of (extremely) elusive toy guns for my costume. (Darn those gun control activists!) But as I wandered along, a new awning caught my eye: Nirvana Cafe, specializing in....Sri Lankan food!

Sri Lankan? Now, there's a cuisine that's hard to find in Manhattan*. Indian? Sure - tons of it. Chinese? We're wallowing in it - from Cantonese to Hong Kong style. Even Malaysian has a larger selection of venues. But until recently, the only Sri Lankan restaurant was Sigiri in the East Village. A great place, to be sure...but us foodies want more choices and options.

A search on the web turned up little in the way of reviews. So I waited...one week. By next Saturday, I practically ran to Nirvana, determined to try the place for myself.

An elegant spot, Nirvana's only been open a few months - at least, as of this writing. But what it offers is promising. Yes, there are the standard items--instantly familiar to any fan of Indian food--such as curries, vada and mulligatawny soup. Then there are the Sri Lankan specialities (which of course interested me more) - including rice noodle bird's nests (known as String Hoppers), Kottu Roti (chopped roti mixed with veggies and egg), Hoppers (crepes served with egg and relish-sambol) and even Pittu (a rice flour dish, flavored with coconut, relish and curry.) Happily, they even have a side section of vegan options - though most dishes, they assured me, could be altered to veggie tastes. My options for the day? Mallung (a light, green leaf stirfry, flavored with a delicate hint of coconut) and Eggplant Moju (my favorite dish of the day - featuring fried eggplant, heavily spiced and curried.) And they even had Faluda - a drink/dessert that fans of bubble tea would love...a bright pink beverage, topped with bits of colored jelly (much like Malalysian Ais Kacang.) Now, that's something you can't get at Sigiri!

As for the prices? Well, they proved slightly steep, though normal for Manhattan - running $8 for a side, and $12 for an entree. But the service is extremely gracious - good enough for a special night out. And for those on a shoestring there's also a lunch buffet, costing less than $9.00. Not bad for a new place on the block. Let's hope it sticks around...because Staten Island is just too far to go for your morning nibble of Moju.

* For those located in the outer boroughs, there are Sri Lankan spots available on Staten Island. Willing to give them a shot? Bon voyage.

Bownie

Bownie - 143-05 45th Avenue (Flushing, Queens) - Sri Lankan
The only Sri Lankan place outside of Staten Island! Bownie is a small, no frills kitchen - with good people, and a small, but tasty selection of Sri Lankan food. A bit of advice: go for the Pittu! Another plus - it's got parking on the street, and is relatively near to Flushing Chinatown proper.