Eat Great Cheap 2016At Dinesh and Nidhi Tandon’s NoMa hangout, graffiti lines the walls, and there’s a tiny pour-your-own bar—plus a spacious outdoor one—as well as an ever-changing chalkboard menu of true home-style cooking (the owners and their daughter live upstairs). Punjabi-style curries are as stimulating as the atmosphere; when they’re available, we love the cardamom-spiked butter chicken, fragrant keema lamb, and fire-breathing vindaloos. There are more than 25 vegan/vegetarian offerings—try a sampling on a thali platter, and don’t forget the smoky eggplant or gingery cauliflower. Also good: Chicken do piazza; paneer-stuffed paratha.
