An inexpensive taste of enlightenment (there's nothing like om cooking): New York's Ayurveda Cafe

In spite of its well-deserved reputation for pricey meals, New York also hides some dining bargains for locals in the know. But when a friend recommended the vegetarian Ayurveda Cafe (706 Amsterdam Avenue), my "trendy-and-expensive" alarms went off. After all, ayurveda--the Indian body care system based on treating the body with herbs and foods elementally suited to that person's body type (for instance, sweet potatoes are said to be warming while cucumbers are cooling)--is very much in vogue. It can also be complicated to follow.  One aspect of the system involves eating only foods that are in season, and that come from a certain palette of flavors: sweet, salty, astringent, sour, pungent, and bitter.

"I heard that there's no menu," my friend told me. "You just sit down, and they serve you whatever they're cooking that day." I pictured a stark white cafe overlooking the city, where the moment I sat, a waiter dressed in a traditional Indian salwar suit would bring me an impeccable plate of hot rice and something curried. I considered that I didn't want to get there before my friend did because I would be served first, and...then what? Would I eat so the dish wouldn't get cold, and then end up full before she arrived? And what if I didn't like the dish of the day?

It's said that one shouldn't focus on the way one expects things to turn out, because the universe may be planning something better. The actual restaurant experience was nothing like I imagined. The entrance to the small cafe is on street level, and the inside is humbly decorated with an altar to Ganesh, the elephant-headed deity of prosperity. The walls are peeling in places, and the tables are simple, diner-style, with paper menus sandwiched under transparent glass tops. "How many?"  a pretty, young Indian woman smiled as I entered.

"Two," I said, and she nodded and gestured toward a table. I sat, and the woman served me a basket of crispy flat bread. No more food came until my friend arrived.

The dish of the day, it turns out, is actually several dishes. It's a thali plate, which is a large dish holding a circle of tiny bowls, each filled with a different taste. All six ayurvedic flavors were represented in raita (yogurt with something white and tender that might have been lotus root); two curried vegetable mixtures; dal (lentil soup), a vegetable fritter and a sweet dessert. The dishes come with Basmati rice or brown rice. I'd read in an online review of the place that diners can ask for seconds, so we did. The price of the all-you-can-eat thali plate: $12.00 (lunch is $8). Bread for dipping (chapati) and water are included; other beverage choices cost extra.

By the time dessert came, our waitress was afraid that my friend and I, both petite, wouldn't be able to handle it. We had no problem devouring the delicate, cream-colored pudding that texturally resembled couscous.

Throughout the meal, a tape of Indian chants and a span of "Omm" played on the speaker system. "I like this," my friend said, mid-om. "It makes me want to sit up straighter." Then the tape skipped, and our good posture collapsed into laughter. It's hard not to smile in the cafe's no-pretense atmosphere.

Not only is the price low, but with an ayurvedic treatment (offered upstairs), your meal is actually free. Having tasted enlightenment, I plan to return for another helping.