World Cooking To Go: Suvai, Alphi Pizzeria, Pin-tó Thai, Mananá Deli

Since the pandemic began,sadly, many restaurants have had to shut their doors laying off workers, while some hang on by a thread. Meanwhile, savvy entrepreneurs have opened “dark kitchens” i.e. food preparation services that don’t have a locale open to the public offering food for pick up and/or delivery. This “airbnb” like democratic business phenomenon has opened the doors to non-professional but excellent home cooks who prepare dishes typical of their traditions. The “world” eating scene in our metropolis is all the better for it. Below are a few of my favorite delivery services, both dark and light.

A Masala dosa at Suvai

The Jewel in the Crown: Loncheria Suvai

Suvai is a dark kitchen and recently inaugurated fonda offering the regional dishes of South India.  Malini, an extraordinary home cook who grew up in New Delhi but whose family hails from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, concentrates on that area’s specialties.

 South Indian cooking features dishes based rice and lentils that have been made into a dough that is fermented and fashioned into steamed or fried vehicles for aromatic, spicy sauces and fragrant vegetable stews. As corn masa is transformed into a host of diverse Mexican antojitos (tacos, sopes, tamales etc.), batters made of basmati rice, white, pink or yellow lentils, wheat and graham flours, red beans, chick peas etc. become dosas, idli, vada, paratha, uttapam. While practically all South Indian cuisine is vegetarian (much of it vegan), Malini includes a few northern dishes – her chicken biryani, fragrant with cardamom and cumin is my favorite.

 The menu, in English but peppered with Hindi terms (bindhi = okra, aloo = potato) can be difficult to decipher even for experienced India-philes. I highly recommend masala dosa, a crisp fried, paper thin rice/lentil crepe stuffed with saucy potatoes. This dish, popular throughout all of the Sub-Continent is emblematic of India’s southern cooking . An order of jeera (cumin) rice is a good accompaniment. A must-try, if available, is pani poori, (‘pani’ means water in Hindi)  a common street food throughout India:  paper thin deep fried dough balls are filled, on the spot, with tart, fragrant liquid flavored with cilantro, cumin and other spices and popped into the mouth with a crunch and a splash.

 Best to order a few hours in advance for lunch or dinner delivery; write to whatsapp and request the daily, menu. Prices are more than reasonable, portions are generous.

 Tel./ Whatsapp: 55 7838 2433
Loncheria Suvai’s new locale:
Concepción Bestegui 619,Colonia Del Valle
Open 10:30 to 6, daily
www.eatinsuvai.com

 if you love Indian food, these dark kitchens are also worth trying:
The Samosa Corner
tel. 55 4721 7998
@thesamosacorner (Instagram)
The Art of Curry
@artofcurrymx (Instagram)

A perfect Margharita at Alphi photo courtesy Alphi Pizzeria Artesenal

Italian/American: Alphi Pizzeria Artesanal

“No Slices” proclaimed the now iconic sign at John’s Pizzeria on Bleeker Street in New York’s Greenwich Village, admonishing guests that something better than the simple street slice was in store. John’s was the quintessential New York pizza, heavy, hearty, down-to-earth. Pepperoni, sausage, peppers and onions, anchovy or no anchovy. Those were the days. Nowadays, the “artisan” pizza has become a “thing” from Peoria to Tokyo and we are bombarded by misguided creativity. I still prefer the Italian/American version with its limited roster of toppings.

So, Alphi is my go-to for satisfying, unpretentious, yet refined pizza. Their pies respect Naples as well as Grand Street in NY: Pizza, the original delivery food, can vary widely in quality. The choices on home delivery apps are overwhelming. I have tried many and have been disappointed more often than not. “Gourmet” pizzas, i.e., those claiming to be faithful to the traditions of Naples, New York, Rome or Chicago are out there but few deliver what they promise. Ingredients tend toward the cheap, crusts are over or undercooked and tasteless.

Alphi’s not-too-thin crust pies utilize such good quality delicacies as house-made guanciale,  Italian sausage and artisan mozzarella  Recipes respect tradition. The Margherita, pride of Naples,  is exemplary.

Good alternatives are:
Balboa Pizzeria (see link)
Osteria Ocho (see post)

 Alphi Pizzeria Artisanal
Aguascalientes 237, Condesa
Tel.: 55 9627 8527
Order: ubereats.com

Som tum - green papaya salad - the quintessential Thai street food

Thai as it should be: Pin-tó Thai

 Pin-tó Thai is the delivery division of the fabulous Galanga Thai House which I have previously lauded in these pages. Galanga is an extraordinary restaurant run by chef Somsri, AKA Ana, who hails from Bangkok, and her locally sourced husband Eleazar; they know what they are doing. Essential hard-to-get ingredients such as Thai basil, kaffir lime, lemongrass (common here but hardly ever available with its requisite white part) even the galangal itself - a root related to ginger - are grown by the couple on a small farm in Hidalgo – so flavors are not compromised.

While Galanga aims for creative “royal Thai cuisine”, Pin-to’s dishes stay close to their humble roots. Flavors and spice-levels are uncompromised. Som tum – green papaya salad - the all-time favorite Bangkok street food, is not tampered with, just done right, sweet, sour, salty and spicy balanced to perfection. Pad Thai, i.e. sweet/savory rice noodles Thsi style, are as mamma used to make – well, someone’s mamma, anyway. Several curries are on offer. Gaeng Saeng Ped – Duck in red curry – is my favorite; the fragrant sauce hints at sweetness but doesn’t overwhelm the tender chunks of roast duck.

Pin-tó Thai To Go
Pick up or delivery  at Monterrey 204 in la Roma - 55 5920 4720 or 55 7808 0763
Available on Rappi

Asian food lovers will also want to try:
Bao Bao which specializes in Taiwanese street food (see post) Rappi, Uber Eats
Asian Bay for pan-regional Chinese (see post) Rappi, Uber Eats

The Reuben, cole slaw and pickle at Mananá

Delicatessen, N.Y. style: Mananá World Deli

For those who miss classic New York deli sandwiches a la Katz’s or the late great Carnegie Deli, there’s Mananá, a pickup-delivery business run by two cook-partners, an ex-New Yorker and a native capitalino. Mananá has garnered much praise: Food & Travel recently recognized the duo for their fine work in the “dark kitchen” category. Even better, a New Yorker claimed that Mananá’s pastrami is “almost as good as Katz’s” and another that the whitefish salad is “as good as my mother’s.”

The emphasis is on Jewish deli – pastrami, Reubens, bagels and lox, cole slaw and potato salad as Zabar’s would have them, pickles (Kosher-style dill, NO vinegar!) and sauerkraut done in-house according to old family recipes. Breads are baked on premises – the caraway rye is heavy, hearty and as any Yiddishe Momma would want it. In order to live up to the “World” in the name, Mananá offers such options as a classic BLT (bacon smoked on the roof), an Italian/American meatball sub reminiscent of old Little Italy, a Cajun fried chicken slider garnished with confit lemon relish and a constantly revolving “sandwich of the week”. The common thread is respect for ingredients and traditions.

Let it be said that the aforementioned “ex-New Yorker” is this writer, who has stepped back from the typewriter and into the kitchen, putting his money where his mouth is.  I am proud of my business and hope my followers will give it a try.

 Mananá World Deli
www.mananadeli.com
Whatsapp 55 6119 4995 for delivery anywhere in the city
Rappi for delivery closer to Roma/Condesa/Juarez

Mananá’s smoked whitefish salad on a poppyseed bagel, available only this weekend, May 14-16