Dimple

Holy Jesus God — I can’t… this is… it’s totally unbelievable… WOW.
It’s all very confusing with Dimple now being Vatan but being housed in Gaam. But wherever I ate, it was amazing. The bf and I stopped in for our V-​Day celebration. There’s only a $ 24.95 all-​veg prix fixe and nothing else, but you won’t be wanting anything else.
First a round of appetizers comes out — a gigantic steel plate with (literally) 10 or so small bites. Some are fried, some are steamed, some are hot, some are cold, all are delicious. My favorites were a sev puri and muthia. You can get seconds of anything, but I highly recommend that you don’t, because what comes out next is a thali with 6 little bowls filled with a different dish each, accompanied by 4 puris, papadam, dal, pulao, and rice. The pulao is ghee-​laden heart attack goodness and I was also quite fond of the chole and ful-​cobi. Once again, you can get seconds of all these things. The meal is finished off with a scoop of ice cream (tutti frutti the night we went) and a cup of chai.
The only regret I have about coming to Dimple/​Vatan/​Gaam is that I nearly exploded. I totally felt like Terry Jones in that Meaning of Life sketch with the wafer thin mint. You know the one I’m talking about. After eating we took a 15 block walk just to help our digestion along, and even still I felt completely full. I have to confess that it’s not a very good V-​Day restaurant, because believe you me: you won’t really be into the V-​Day sex when you’re feeling like a stuffed pig.
I’ll definitely be back again, when I’m really, really hungry… just not when I’m really, really horny.

This place is awful to look at, but no matter; the food was precious and rather inexpensive, so I’d recommend it. Takeout is another recommendation for those put off by cups filled with help-​yourself utensils, etc., but I found it all very charming.
On to the food.
I had the bharatha and absolutely loved it. With some buttery, chewy, rip-​me-​to-​pieces naan on the side, it was a lovely meal.
My friend had uthappam with paneer and tomatoes on it: Indian pizza! I tried a bite and loved it.
I wouldn’t mind trying their lunch specials to go; at $ 6.50, that’s a lot of food for a small expense.

Is Dimple a bulging chad on a voting ballot? Or an indentation of the skin that could qualify as a «visible mark» that passport applications in some countries require you to state? It is both. But it is also an Indian restaurant in a lightly-​treaded, unattractive section of Midtown.
I have fond memories of going to the erstwhile Dimple for my New York version of streetside snacks from Bombay, notably bhel puri and chaat. But Dimple has since been acquired by the management of Vatan, and now mimics the Western Indian village theme of its now-​being-​renovated elder sibling in Murray Hill. The upstairs area of Dimple is cavernous and therefore interesting. Dimple has Vatan’s three-​course, prix-​fix dinner, including the baby samosas, khaman and chana masala in the medium-​spicy appetizer tray. You can choose your main course to be mild, medium or spicy. Remember to leave some room for the ice cream and masala tea that follow.
I came to Dimple recently with a group of ten. Our large table was assigned one server, who was also covering other tables. He was in a ‘kurta pajama like’ colorful traditional dress that accentuated his sizeable frame. I promise to not take a star off in my review, if the said server promises not to take off his dress when I am watching.
The experience reminded me of ‘Maharaja (king) and the Sepoys (army)’ a variant of chess where a lone king from one side, admittedly with more degrees of freedom in his movement, is pitted against the full army of pieces on the opponent’s side.
_​_​_​, , _​_​_​
| | /​_​| /​\ \ |/​\| /​–|– /​\ /​_​| | |
|_​| /​_​| |_​| \_​/​/​_​\ |_​| /​_​| | _​|
O O O O O O O O
(_​) (_​) (_​) (_​) (_​) (_​) (_​) (_​)
versus
–|–
/​_​\
I should report that the lone king, in this case the single server, eventually lost to the demands of our full table. Service was annoyingly slow even if polite, but I will resist downgrading Dimple simply for that reason, as it works out its kinks over the coming months. The food quality at Dimple and Vatan is solid, but definitely not deserving of five stars.

Was here last night — it is effectively the replacement Vatan until renovations are completed in Fall 2008. You get the $ 24.95 vegetarian prix fixe — and can order your usual beers (including $ 7 22 oz Indian beers, and $ 20 – 30 bottles of wine). You get a round of appetizers, main course, and dessert. ALL DELICIOUS.
Your server will be beautifully dressed in traditional garb and take pride in explaining each dish and sauce. You can order more of any single thing you like, but beware, those little dishes pack quite an army altogether and I needed no refills to be so amazingly full!
We sat upstairs in the cave, as we were a bit of a group (there are three group size tables for 6 or so there, and booths downstairs. Lots of garish Indian art abound (the person depicted on our table had visible pubes).
We really enjoyed the place. I would have given 5 stars, but I do think the price is actually a bit much for what are largely grains and tubers, and zero fresh vegetables.
But what’s priceless — our new catch phrase for departures: «Let’s leave this cave.»

Came here to had the much-​fabled all-​you-​can-​eat prix fixe meal. I’m a vegetarian so that already biases me pretty heavily in favor of this place, but its food definitely stands up for itself. This place is now run by the same people who ran Vatan, which is closed for renovations. The menu here is transplanted from Vatan.
I was advised to not eat the day that I came here because the dinner would be so generous, but even fasting for the whole day didn’t leave me enough space to eat as much as I wanted! The appetizer tray is already a meal in itself; unfortunately I don’t remember the names of the dishes but there was this one fried bread in a yogurt sauce that was really good, as well as a peanut & chickpea dish. The main course was even heftier; the puri bread was delicious and I really liked the cauliflower dish. Even though it’s all you can eat, I only asked for seconds of two of the appetizers; the meal they serve is more than enough by itself. The only thing that was slightly disappointing was the mango ice cream dessert, but oh well no place is perfect.
The other thing that might put off some people is that the spiciness is a little erratic; the appetizers were pretty hot, so when I asked for a «medium» entrée plate I expected something similar, but actually it was very mild. My friend ordered the «hot» entrée plate and also found his plate to be rather mild.
Just as a side note, while we were basking in the warm after-​glow of the meal there was this guy who came in and kept on insisting on getting take-​out. The maitre d’ had to repeat to him 5 times that there is no takeout, so I’ll just help her out a bit and tell you right now THERE IS NO TAKEOUT. :)
All in all highly recommended!

Pros: Fabulous flavorful vegetarian food
Cons: Not the most attractive/​comfortable setting
Not a place you’d want to miss out on. It’s hidden between Midtown and Chelsea between drab non-​descript buildings. Not to worry, this flavorful Indian cuisine will have you hunting it down every other weekend! Make sure you order the Dosas…

The best indian food in Manhattan.
Its a big statement but it is absolutely true. Not the best décor but the food is consistently delicious.
Not only that but its cheap too! Dont miss it.
EDIT: 11÷15÷07 Now under new managment. No longer the best indian food in Manhattan.