A New Quickie

Yesterday Todd and I tried a place we've passed hundreds of times but have never gone into: Kati Roll Co. on Macdougal Street. I had seen it in New York Magazine's 75 under $20 issue about a year ago but, even though Todd goes to NYU part-time and is always looking for a quick place to get dinner, we had never tried it.

It's a tiny shop a flight of steps up from the street. No posted menu, but there are only about 10 options so if you're a regular you don't even need a menu. All they serve are these rolled-up thin pancake-like things, called "parantha," filled with chicken, beef or paneer (a tofu-like Indian cheese). Todd had a chicken tikka one, and I had a paneer one; they were both spicy and mine included what the menu called "pickles," red onion and green bell pepper that was a sharp, fresh contrast to the earthy spiciness of the cheese. With our sodas the whole meal was $10.50, and we were both pleasantly full when we were done. Todd's pretty excited to have found a new quick bite near school. I'm jealous that he's going to be in the neighborhood regularly and I'm not. (The same thing happened with BB's, the not-quite-a-real-Philly-cheesesteak shop on West 3rd. They're cheap and delicious and I never get to have them because Todd gets them on the way to class all the time, then when we're in the neighborhood together he doesn't want it because he's sick of it.)