Semma

Heat With Manners

3.5 of 5

Vijay Kumar cooks South Indian regional food at 60 Greenwich Avenue and does not sand it down for American tastes. Michelin gives the room one star and describes the cooking as using heat as elegantly as it is liberally. That line is accurate. This is not dumbed down curry. It is food from a region where spice is an argument about balance.

Start with the mulaikattiya thaniyam, a sprouted mung bean snack that tells you what kind of night it will be. Order the gunpowder dosa, a rice and lentil crepe. Tear into the flaky parotta. If you can get the table to agree, the Dindigul biryani with goat is the dish to share. The price band is $$$, which for a Michelin starred room in the West Village is the polite end of the spectrum.

The restaurant is open Monday to Saturday, 5 PM to 10 PM, and closed Sundays. Call 212 373 8900 or book through the venue site. Bring friends who like eating with their hands and give the kitchen the evening. Order the dosa first so it arrives crisp, then work through the rest at the table's pace. Heat in this cooking is a seasoning, a structure and a conversation, and Kumar keeps all three in order.

Order this: Gunpowder dosa, Dindigul biryani with goat, Flaky parotta, Mulaikattiya thaniyam, the sprouted mung bean snack
The damage: $$$
Go: Monday to Saturday from 5 PM, with a group that wants to share
Find it: 60 Greenwich Avenue, New York, NY 10011