CAFE SPICE

54 West 55th Street (between 5th and 6th)
[E, F to 53rd St-5th Ave]

After his first practice LSAT, Ilya and I went out to discuss a girl he's crazy about over food I'm crazy about - both happen to be Indian. The lunch special can't be beat; for some reason, I thought Thali meant some kind of rice dish - I was clearly thinking Biryani - while instead, it means "platter fit for a King." Ilya got a platter with dal, lamb, curry, rice, nan and a veggie for about $12. We decided to make pigs of ourselves by splitting a lamb appetizer (something from the tandoor...) that had an awesome chutney, and then getting desert (Gulab Jamun - whose name we stumbled over, even after we'd finished it) with chai (that comes black and unsweetened but the waitress brings milk and sugar). Another great thing about this place is that just about any of the main courses come as a "lunch," meaning that they are slightly smaller and slightly cheaper. I ordered some kind of tandoor meat platter which did come with naan but did not come with the lentils that were so good, I ordered it separately and dipped all my meat in it. All my meat, that is, except the chicken tikka which was, in a word, perfect. Altogether, we're talking $30 in damage, per person. Yeah, its good to work.