Masala Dosa with coconut chutney at Sri Ganesh’s Dosa House

Prompted by the one and only Village Voice food critic Robert Seitsema, my friends and I took a jaunt to Jersey City’s Little India. It’s not everyday that I brave the path train for a dining adventure, so we turned the night into a proper Indian food crawl of Newark Avenue. Our appetizers for the night were dosas at Sri Ganesh’s Dosa House, where we ordered a cheese dosa (think grilled cheese sandwich meets dosa) and a masala dosa, which we ate with the complimentary (that’s not a typo) sambar. Next, we picked up some Indian beers and BYOB-ed at Deccan Spice. The naan and tikka masala paneer at Deccan Spice were fantastic, but the house special chicken biryani was extraordinary. The spices were so complex and layered, I wish I could sit down with the chef for hours and pick his brain about this recipe. We finished the night at Bengali Sweet House, where I selected a colorful assortment of sweets from the deli counter for us to sample. Many Indian sweets have a sandy texture that I’m unaccustomed to, but many of the treats we tasted were pleasant enough. I ended the night with a sweet and milky masala chai tea, and we headed on the Path train back to Manhattan.

*Interesting* Indian beers: Taj Mahal and Howards 5000

But for some reason, I am here post-Sandy, thinking of the positives. I am reminiscing about the sense of community the hurricane fostered among residents of the city; I am thinking of the time I spent with my friends, huddled by candlelight, strumming guitar and singing Jeff Buckley’s rendition of Hallelujah; I am thinking of the beautiful homemade dinners I shared throughout the week with people I love and fellow displaced Manhattanites.

After days of nomadness, eating meal after meal at bodegas and cafes, there was homemade brown rice bowls brimming with with miso-marinated tofu, roasted kabocha squash, eggplant, beets, black eyed peas, kale and beet greens. We stumbled upon a tortilla factory on Grand Street in Bushwick where we bought tortillas and took pictures of the hardworking employees. That night, we invited everyone we knew who lived and was staying in the neighborhood to come feast on corn and zucchini enchiladas made with the tortillas we bought earlier that day.

Yes, the hurricane forced me out of my power-less, heat-less home for a week and made me live a semi-nomadic lifestyle in Bushwick, Brooklyn. But the hurricane also brought me back to that which I love most in life: cooking, music, and intimate shared experiences with friends. Mark my words, there will be commemorative Sandy reunion dinners.

Homemade brown rice bowl (with miso-marinated tofu, roasted kabocha squash, eggplant, beets, black eyed peas, kale and beet greens)

Tortilleria Chinantla tortilla factory in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Zucchini and corn enchiladas with avocado salad (made with Tortilleria Chinantla tortillas)

*A very special thanks to my sous chef for the week, Madelyn Somers.

Dutch Baby

Winesap + SuncrispJust apples, butter and sugarCaramelizing the apples

Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen: Molly’s Apple Tarte Tatin

Apples courtesy of Hillview Farms

Salted Caramel and Chili-chocolate Gelato

Frittata

Arepa with chorizo and cheddar cheese

Tequeños

The Milkman and Sons was the name of the band, traditional blues and prohibition jazz was what they played. I sipped my Captain Lawrence Kolsch and listened as they played Mississippi Fred McDowell’s You Got to Move. Various bar patrons joined in throughout the afternoon–one father with a newborn babe played a few songs on guitar, an old man at the bar provided soul-penetrating, raspy vocals to a heavy melody. When in New York, do your best to get purposefully lost. Without knowing it, you will get found.

Mississippi Fred McDowell – You Got to Move

Did I mention I need to go back for the milk-braised turkey leg sandwich, because I do.

329 Henry Street, Brooklyn. 718-852-8630