Especially worthwhile are the refreshing aloo chaat salad—a toss of chickpeas, potatoes, onions, and fried pastry—and the vegetable-stuffed samosas.
Mendelsohn’s milkshakes—especially the toasted-marshmallow flavor—are some of the best in town.
Pies at this Hill-staffer gathering place are best when leaning toward the creative, including an outstanding barbecue pizza topped with smoky shredded pork, cheddar, and fried onions.
Among the house specialities are well-seasoned steaks that come plain or with a variety of dressings—the carne de salpicón has an eye-watering, chili-laced topping.
Order a whole pie—our favorite is the garlicky white clam—or by the slice, which we like topped with sausage, mushrooms, and garlic. The Sorbillo’s Original is filling and flavor-packed.
Share a few rounds of sliders, whether made from tuna tartare—they’ve been a staple on the menu since day one—or pork-belly bánh mì.
The big, juicy patties are crafted from dry-aged beef and set on puffy brioche buns. We like them dressed with cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and grilled onions.
Most entrées are hearty enough to share—a good way to stick to a Cheap Eats budget. In Louisiana fashion, the owners are big on live music, and bands play most weekends.
Desserts here are built around frozen custard. It’s blended into killer shakes and “concretes,” a blend of custard and traditional ice-cream toppings such as hot fudge and cookie dough.
If you’re after something quick, the excellent pork souvlaki wrapped with feta in warm, soft pita is the way to go—it’s one of our favorite sandwiches in the area
Some of the area’s best vegetarian eating can be found here. The easiest way to sample the vegetable stews and sautés is to share a generously heaped platter on a round of injera.
Two people can make a meal from one big bowl of ramen (all five varieties are $10 each) and an order of dumplings (six for $5), which means a Cheap Eats budget can include cocktails.
We recommend: Cheese and black-bean pupusas; yuca, fried and topped with pork and a vinegary slaw; carne desilada, a platter of shredded beef, avocado, rice, and beans.
Many simple-looking dishes have a surprising depth of flavor—a bulgur-wheat-and-tomato salad, flavored with cumin, is cooked like risotto for more than an hour.
Try the tender meatballs blanketed in terrific red sauce (now sold by the jar) and fluffy tiramisu. To drink, there are wine carafes and interesting draft beers.
The flavors of the kitchen’s chicken makhani are at once amped up and complex, and it’s hard to resist sopping up all the tomatoey gravy with blistered rounds of cilantro-sprinkled naan.
Recent standouts on the menu have been roasted mushrooms w/ braised leeks; crispy potatoes w/ malt aïoli; honey-glazed carrots w/ shallots and thyme; strawberry-rhubarb crumb pie w/ vanilla ice cream
We recommend: Sambusas; yebeg wat (lamb); doro wat (chicken and hard-boiled egg); kitfo (beef tartare); kik alicha (split peas); gomen (collards); azifa (green lentils).
