New York City (NYC) is arguably the most cosmopolitan city on the planet. The city’s cultural diversity is a perfect example of how the mega cities will be shaped by forces of globalization. I read somewhere NYC has arguably the greatest number of restaurants of any city in the world and this does seem a believable fact due to the city’s huge population which comes from almost every national background in the world. Most people I have talked to believe Pakistani and Indian food is same but I have a friend from Pakistan who pointed out that they may share certain similarities but they are also quite distinctive in style (Buncombe, 2012). She pointed out that a sandwich is eaten both in France and U.S. but no one could make a claim that since lot of food items are popular in both countries, American and French food is same or at least quite similar. She also advised me to eat at an authentic Pakistani restaurant on a visit to NYC so that I have better understanding of Pakistani cuisine culture. Thus, when it came time for my NYC visit, I contacted my friend and she suggested Mithaas in Brooklyn. She warned me it is not a very fancy restaurant but it would allow you to try many dishes on a budget and my visit indeed proved she was right. Luckily, I had two friends with me which made the visit even more economical on a per capita basis. Before visiting the restaurant, I read reviews on Yelp (Yelp) and Yahoo! Local (Yahoo!) to decide upon the dishes we would be ordering.
When we entered the restaurant, it was immediately apparent that this is not a restaurant in the conventional sense of the term but more like a quick stop for affordable Pakistani food. There must not have been more than six tables two of which were occupied by couples with children, apparently Pakistani as judged by their dresses and ethnic appearance. Even the food ordering system was closer to fast food outlet as opposed to a restaurant. We were handed out menus even though much of the food was visible from the glass counter which was not much different from the ones found at gourmet ice cream and cake stores.
For the appetizers, we chose samosas and dahi bhalla for three of us, costing us only twelve dollars even though they could have qualified as a proper meal. My Pakistani friend had told me before Pakistanis do not really believe in the concept of appetizers so what may be an appetizer for one person may be a meal for another person. It is hard to describe samosas and dahi bhallas but the closest to samsosas may be meat patties in America though Samosas have harder texture. Dahi bhallas could be described as soft but spicy flour product which is added to think yoghurt with salt, spices, and sauces along with raw vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, and chilies. Both appetizers were spicier than what an average westerner may be comfortable with though they may only appear as mild to most Asian nationalities.
For the main course, we decided upon naan, haleem, rice, and chargha. Naan is flour pita but softer, thicker, and fluffier. Haleem could be described as spicy wheat and barley curry with chunks of meat. Haleem reminded me of the versatility of certain curry items in Pakistan and India because they can be eaten on their own, with naan, or with rice. It was clear wheat and barley had been minced. I liked haleem so much I had to ask what is in it otherwise I might have thought of it as just a dense paste of different herbs to which water had been added. But the most delicious item in the main course was chargha. If KFC had started in Pakistani, then chargha would have been the item they would be selling instead of fried chicken.
Chargha could be considered Pakistani-style roast chicken. I asked about the coating of chicken and one of the sales associate said the paste involves yoghurt, vinegar, different spices, and lemon among other things. Chargha was also delicious because it was one of the few products made on order. We had ordered chargha at the time we ordered appetizers because the restaurant policy was to order chargha at least forty minutes in advance. Other products had already been prepared and were mostly heated. This might have shocked an ordinary person but I knew this is a standard procedure at almost every Pakistani and Indian restaurants because the food items take so much time to prepare it is not possible to prepare them just when the order comes. If I have to compare chargha to KFC fried chicken, charga was spicier, more tangy, and the mixture had spread to even inside of the meat instead of just covering it on the surface. The whole chargha consisting of four chicken pieces cost us just thirteen dollars and each of the four chicken pieces was the equivalent of almost three fried chicken items at KFC. At that moment, I wished I could move close to Mithaas because I could eat chargha everyday without going broke. By the time we finished full course meal, none of us had any desire to eat more, thus, we decided to skip on the desserts.
Just as my friend said, the restaurant might not have been fancy but it was one of the most delicious as well as most affordable meals I have had in life. Our total was thirty five dollars in an expensive city like New York City and we three actually had trouble finishing everything we ordered. I did find that Pakistani and Indian meals have some differences in style but one thing was apparent that both countries share mutual love for spicy food.
- Buncombe, A. (2012, January 18). Now India and Pakistan have started a food fight. Retrieved November 1, 2014, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/now-india-and-pakistan-have-started-a-food-fight-6291030.html
- Yahoo! (n.d.). Mithaas. Retrieved November 1, 2014, from https://local.yahoo.com/info-161337873-mithaas-brooklyn
- Yelp. (n.d.). Mithaas. Retrieved November 1, 2014, from http://www.yelp.com/biz/mithaas-brooklyn
