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Brick Lane Curry House

342 E. 6th Street between 2nd & 1st Avenues

Having made several oblique references to the East Village's Curry Row in previous reviews of Indian restaurants, I finally have a worthy choice for the Eat NYC audience, a quiet, understated London-styled joint with above average food and a pleasant lack of red pepper lights, bhangra-disco soundtracks, or a door manned by the pushy maitre d's that line either side of the block. Actually, I just noticed that we actually do have an audience now, which is nice, so thank you Cindi Hare for your comments and interest in our site. Since I diverted into an aside, I would like to take this opportunity to note that Eat NYC is currently a work in progress, but please stay tuned while we work out the bumps in our fledgling site. We hope to deliver good content from a different perspective than the pros, and hope that our site is a pleasure to navigate, so I think it's safe to say that any comments regarding our reviews, the shape and form of the site, and your harshest critiques would all be very welcome.

Back to the review, many apologies for the diversion. Well, once you've skillfully dodged all those maitre d's on Sixth Street, tuck into a cozy table in one of Brick Lane's two terra cotta dining rooms, and select from a nicely composed menu of appetizers, bread, kebabs and rolls, curries, and biryanis. The selection at Brick Lane, unlike many of its Curry Row counterparts, is terse and well edited, and highlights the seven curries, organized from mildest to hottest top to bottom. The hottest, phaal, requires a verbal waiver upon ordering, however the restaurant will treat you to a complementary Singha should you finish the entire dish. I opted for Madras with chicken, fifth in line and just below my typical Vindaloo. The stew was a perfect balance of sweet and savory -- unfortunately lacking in the heat I was expecting in the third-hottest curry listed -- with a satisfying creaminess given textural depth with whole coriander or mustard seeds (i really don't recall which it was). I would recommend ordering the lamb over the chicken though, the poultry somewhat gamey, poorly trimmed and cut, and most likey from the cheapest possible part of the bird. The lamb, in contrast, was soft and supple as tasted in my companion's curry--which might have been the bhaat, a dark, rich tomato based dish, but i'm having memory problems today--a well stewed relief from the often tough and stringy lamb you find in lesser Indian restaurants.

Vegetarians and Vegans need not despair--not that they ever have to with indian joints--with an entire section of the menu devoted to strictly vegetarian and vegan choices. My other companion, an almost strict vegetarian, opted for the Saag Paneer, an indian staple if there ever was, a thick green porridge of spinach and homemade cheese. The dish was hearty and ribsticking, very mild and slightly bitter,with a slight touch of cilantro dancing aptly with the salty cheese and incredibly fresh spinach. A final disclaimer though, as i try to conclude without a silly rhetorical device (crap, was that just meta-rhetorical?)-- Brick Lane is slightly more expensive than the other restaurants in the area, so if you are angling for dirt-cheap mediocrity go to Milon Bangladesh around the corner instead. If you don't mind the upcharge though, Brick Lane is a very good bet and a great value, the overall high quality of the food, the pleasantness of the room, and the able yet relaxed service justifying the added expenditure.