Junoon

With Tabla now closed, the torch of fine dining Indian in the Flatiron District has now been passed along to Junoon, which surprisingly is located just two blocks away from where Tabla resided. 

A few months ago I had the pleasure of walking into Junoon for the first time and meeting the Executive Chef Vikas Khanna.  If you’re a fan of the television show “Kitchen Nightmares”, you may remember Chef Vikas from the episode featuring “Dillon’s” Indian restaurant in midtown, in which he was brought in as a consulting chef to help get the restaurant back on track.  The show did a great job showcasing Chef Vikas’ signature style and flavors, and now his cooking is on display at Junoon.  Today I returned to the restaurant and tried his cooking for the first time. 

At first notice of walking into Junoon you realize no expense was spared, anywhere.  Junoon means “passion”, and this restaurant is the lifelong dream of Rajesh Bhardwaj, the man behind “Café Spice”.  This restaurant is beautiful, and there is a touch of elegance everywhere.  Upon entering you walk into a small room with a small reflecting pool, of which the sleek black hostess stand can be seen through two more glass doors.  The hostess stand is directly in front of a 50-foot passageway which also contains a long reflecting pool filled with stones, white sculptures covering flood lamps, and beige sandstone sculptures depicting vines (the same design on their website).  I couldn’t help but feel reminiscent of Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan.  The main dining room is to the left of the pool, in which an open kitchen stands in the middle. 

Tones and shades of brown are the color scheme through the restaurant.  Tan and white colored tablecloths cover tables in front of beige banquettes, and brown chairs with wooden legs.  A light brown carpet reflects off the light beige covered walls.  The showplates which sit on the tables even have beautiful brown-rimmed edges, and on them layed beige napkins with the Junoon logo etched in brown.  Not knowing the NY Times already awarded Junoon with two stars, I would have thought I just walked into a four star restaurant.  The décor is incredibly polished.  However, nothing else in this restaurant came anywhere close. 

I arrived 10 minutes after my reservation, and walked into the restaurant to an empty hostess stand.  This is such an awkward moment for a guest, as they do not know if they should keep walking, or stand there and wait for someone.  Luckily, someone saw me within a few seconds and helped me into the dining room.  Five minutes after being seated, the now present non-smiling, cold, and uninviting hostess saw me, approached me, and asked if I checked in at the front.  I responded “Yes, someone took care of me”.  She then disappeared, and reappeared another five minutes later and asked “Did you have a reservation?”  “Yes, I do.”  “Ok.”  I swear, you’re starting to annoy me.  Not a good way to start. 

At first glance the service staff is seemingly on point, and considering there were just as many of them as there were diners in the restaurant, they should be also.  All were very well-dressed and groomed, but you soon realize you’re seated in a dining room full of old-school pretentiousness.  Although informative, they all lacked a certain amount of warmth, as to impress you with their sophistication.  I advise you to loosen your collar, as it will get stuffy in here very quick. 

The Operations Manager is Deepak Shah, a very clean-cut Indian male who is a veteran of running the dining rooms of Del Posto and A Voce.  It is very easy to see he has a keen eye for attention to detail, and conducts his FOH orchestra through the dining room to fix even the slightest of problems.  If he leaves the floor, however, the FOH is very misguided.  I had noticed them approaching tables and backtracking as if they forgot something, bumping into each other, and fooling around loudly behind pillars.  What was at one point considered to be a polished staff, was now nothing more than a glossy mess. 

Anyway, lets get to the food.  Junoon offers a $25 pre-fixe lunch menu, and this is what attracted me to come in this afternoon.  It was a choice of four appetizers, three entrees, and two desserts.  It is always great when high-end restaurants offer a cheap 3-course lunch option, as opposed to paying upwards of $80-$150 for two at dinner.  The only thing you have to worry about, though, is if they skimp on the portion sizes.  This was not the case today, as I actually left quite full, and didn’t even eat all the food that was offered to me. 

The menu here touches on five different cooking methods across India.  Your entrees are explained as being cooked Tandoor (in the clay oven), Sigri (in an open fire pit), Handi (as a curry), Tawa (cast iron cooking), and Patthar (stone cooked).  Sadly, the three entrees offered for the pre-fixe menu were all Handi’s, or curries (the website is not currently updated if you’re looking at it), which made me a little upset because there was no variety in the menu offered.  I settled on the Murg Tikka for an appetizer (think tandoori chicken), a lamb curry for the entrée, and the Cardamom Kulfi. 

As I waited for the Murg Tikka to arrive I sat comfortably within the banquette.  Then I realized I’ve been waiting a while.  Then I waited some more.  I noticed Deepak had taken notice and immediately run into the kitchen.  Twenty minutes later, he places my appetizer in front of me, and apologizes for the wait while saying “Sorry about the wait, we cook everything from scratch.”  I didn’t cry foul as I had nowhere to be immediately, but nonetheless, twenty minutes for a first course, especially three small pieces of chicken, is a very long time to wait.  Let’s at least hope it’s cooked.  As I noticed other diners around the room I realize it was no mistake on the part of the kitchen, it actually does take them that long to deliver this course.  Table after table were waiting of upwards to twenty minutes for their first courses to arrive. 

The chicken was actually cooked perfectly.  A slight char on the outside, while still being hot and moist in the middle.  The three pieces of chicken sat atop a bed of cilantro chutney.  A tight red onion raita (yogurt sauce), and a wedge of lime finished the plate.  I actually devoured this course within a minute.  Me being very hungry at the time or the portion being very tiny could have helped also. 

Murg Tikka & Red Onion Raita

Then about four members of the FOH team swarmed my table and worked with assembly-line precision to clear my table and reset for the next course.  An entrée plate was dropped.  Then a food runner delivered the lamb curry, white rice, a piece of naan, and to my surprise, tableside service.  He actually scooped the rice onto my plate, as well as a little of the lamb curry.  It has been a very long time since I have been served an entrée like that in a restaurant. 

The basmati rice was cooked very well, with a few pieces of cloves lost in the granules of white rice.  The lamb curry was spiked with green cardamom seeds, red chilies, and tomatoes.  The lamb was tender, the sauce flavorful, and a very good amount of heat.  You can sense its presence, but it was not overwhelming either.  The naan was thin and flaky, and I actually enjoyed eating it very much.  As full as I was getting from the curry, I couldn’t help but take a few pieces of the bread and soak up the sauce on the plate.  The bread was so good.

Lamb Curry & Basmati Rice

Before the dessert arrived the same runner that offered me tableside service brought me a hot towel to wipe my hands.  Again, it has been a very long time since I have had this type of service, but I actually liked this.  After my hands had gotten a little messy from the naan, it was a nice touch to be able to wipe them clean.   

When the last course of the cardamom kulfi arrived I almost laughed.  It was a bite size portion, almost looking as if it had been frozen in ice cube trays.  However, being full from the curry it actually made sense, and I appreciated the portion being small.  A small pistachio cookie and a rosewater chocolate petit four finished the meal. 

Although there will be many that argue you can get the same food in Curry Hill a few blocks away for a fraction of the price, I can’t help but say this was a great lunch deal.  For $25 you’re not going to be able to eat this food in this type of beautiful setting anywhere else, albeit a little stuffy.  I can see why the restaurant received two stars by Sam Sifton, because he doesn’t go into detail for the negatives if you read his review (you can find it on the restaurants website). 

After my meal I decided to head downstairs to the restroom to wash up, and I encourage everyone to visit the downstairs area.  To my surprise the downstairs area has as much thought put into it as the rest of the restaurant.  A small lounge area with a couch outside the large bathrooms, and also on display is a table full of various lentils and spices from India.  The walls are decorated with pictures of various spices depicting their Indian names and flavors.  The bathrooms are also spotless, and that you will not find in Curry Hill. 

Spice Jars

Downstairs Lounge

Now I will be honest, I probably won’t come back to Junoon for dinner.  I, and most people would agree, can’t see myself paying of upwards to $100 for a meal like this.  However, their $25 pre-fixe lunch is a great deal, so you should definitely make your way in for that. 

Junoon

27 W 24th Street

New York, NY 10010