“. . . the desire her whole person expressed was that of communicating to me what she was tasting: communicating with me through flavors, or communicating with flavors through a double set of taste buds, hers and mine. . . .”
Italo Calvino, "Under the Jaguar Sun."

Late Night Bengali Food at Ittadi

Sometimes my commute gets me back into Queens late at night without having had dinner. In those situations, Ittadi is totally vital: they serve amazing, filling Bengali food until 2am every night. Ittadi is counter-serve but they have a large seating area as well. I will generally go up to the counter and ask them to tell me about what they have that day—they are always very helpful and I always end up with amazing food.

a meal at Ittadi

On this occasion, I got a dish of chana (chickpeas) and a spinach bhorta, a category of pounded dishes popular in Bengal and Bangladesh. Alongside these I got some bread (I believe this was a paratha) and the standard accompaniments of lentil soup and rice. All of the food was excellent, but the spinach bhorta was the star. It was spicy, flavorful, and really hit the spot. Ittadi would be a great restaurant any time of day, but for me, it is as a late-night dinner that it really shines.

Update: some more food from a recent trip:

the meal
complementary lentil soup
split chickpeas/chana
fenugreek/methi bhorta

Ittadi
73-07 37th Rd
Queens, Jackson Heights, NY 11372

Late Night Bengali Food at Ittadi

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