Review from the City Newspaper

Below is an excerpt of a review from the Rochester City Newspaper. The full review can be found at: http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/restaurants/articles/2010/02/Immigrant-restaurants-a-taste-of-home/

Romy Sial, owner of the Bombay Chaat House in Henrietta, is watching anxiously as I bite into a creamy, cardamom-scented ball of gulab jamun. A few moments ago, after I'd already eaten a plate of bhel puri (curried rice crispies topped with tamarind and mint chutneys, raita, and a generous shake of chili powder), two different samosas, and a kachori (a deep-fried pastry filled with lentils and spices), I told her that I don't really like Indian sweets. She asked me if I'd tried her carrot halwa or her gulab jamun as she walked behind her counter and started dishing me up a portion of both of them.


The tiny dining room has no polish, but it is all comfort, right down to the ceiling-mounted heater that blows down hot, curry-scented air. My table, with its plastic tablecloth patterned to look like white lace, could be in my grandmother's kitchen. The chairs are comfortable and look like they, too, came out of someone's kitchen.



The door opens and a blast of chilly air ushers two young people, both Indian, into the restaurant. They greet Sial as "Auntie" - a sign of both affection and respect. Sial beams at them, bustling about behind the counter while asking both of them about their classes, about upcoming and past job interviews, about how their winter vacations have been so far. All the while, she is moving about her kitchen, cleaning, rearranging, checking a pot on the household range on which she cooks everything, popping samosas into a microwave for a burst of heat. Sial shows her love through food: this is exactly like eating in my grandmother's kitchen, and the people who frequent the restaurant seem to be coming in as much for the warm reception as for the superlative Indian street food that Sial gets up at 6 every morning to make for them.