Village The Soul of India, vegetarian eatery, opens in Hicksville
North Indian thali at Village The Soul of India, a new vegetarian eatery in Hicksville. Credit: Newsday/Scott Vogel
Many Uber drivers possess talents far beyond the pickup and drop-off variety. Case in point: Logonathan Thangarasu, who was forced into the gig economy during the great pandemic shuffle despite 20 years of kitchen experience at area Indian restaurants. Which to Sarvinder Singh was nothing short of a culinary crime.
“I explained to him that Uber should be the last option,” Singh recalled. “That is for when your talent is wasted, but while your body still has the energy, you should do the thing you have talent for. That’s how I convinced him.”
A decade ago, when Singh arrived in America from Uttar Pradesh, he had no idea if he possessed the talent to run his own vegetarian Indian eatery, but that was the dream from the moment he landed a job at Chennai Dosas in Hicksville, earning $300 a week as a server. Singh met Thangarasu when he was a chef there and the two stayed friends even as Singh continued saving money for his dream and Thangarasu left the business for good, or so he thought. Then, earlier this year, Rangsit 11, a tiny Thai eatery literally around the corner from Chennai, closed its doors. “I will invest my money and we both can open a small place just to survive,” Singh told his friend.
Their restaurant, Village The Soul of India, opened Oct. 21. A few things can already be confirmed: Singh does indeed have a talent for restauranting and Thangarasu has lost none of his. Together they have created an exciting new Indian destination with vegetarian dishes culled from all corners of the subcontinent, much of it deliciously prepared and presented.
When Village’s North Indian Thali ($14.95) arrives on a silver tray, the plating seems almost comical for such simple fare, but there are revelations inside every metal cup therein: Chickpeas bathing in a heavenly gravy, dal with flavor as bright as its yellow lentils, spot-on saag paneer and kheer (rice pudding) and raita (a yogurty dip).
The matka dosa, with mixed vegetables, paneer and cream at Village The Soul of India, a new vegetarian restaurant in Hicksville. Credit: Newsday/Scott Vogel
From the south we get kulambu, a tamarind and onion curry that serves a fine supporting role for a variety of vegetables, whether okra or garlic or drumsticks (from the moringa tree). All are $11.95, including the one I tried, a rich and hearty stew with juicy wedges of eggplant.
Other menu items include fine uthappam ($9.95) — a rice pancake dotted with vegetables — and some Indo-Chinese dishes, including a yummy chili paneer featuring sweet-hot chili sauce over sturdy cottage cheese sticks ($8.95). And this being a vegetarian restaurant, Village has a wide selection of dosas, although don’t overlook that rare dosa to go viral — the matka dosa ($13.95) — a Mumbai street sensation that’s equal parts trendy and controversial.
Although Thangarasu has the good sense to avoid loading his with mayonnaise, he doesn’t skimp on either vegetables, cheese or cream, shaping the rice and lentil crepe, as is customary, into a tornadic cone poised atop an earthenware cup (the matka). And it’s the satisfying slurry of what falls into that cup that turns this dosa, which might have been the love child of a crepe and a quesadilla, into much more than a gimmick.
Throw in a few desserts — especially the badam halwa ($5.95), an irresistible warm almond pudding — and I think you’ll see why word-of-mouth is already leading foodies of all stripes to Village, its owners having found and refound their talent.
Village The Soul of India, 11 W. Marie St. in Hicksville, 516-506-3655, villagesoulofindia.com. Opening hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Tuesday.
Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.
