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Over time, more and more of Lower Manhattan's Desi businesses are closing down due to gentrification and increasing rent. For the majority of my childhood, Lahore deli, a tiny Pakistani restaurant and convenience store would be just up the street from my house. Unfortunately, around the time of the pandemic, the owner of Lahore Deli sold the restaurant and moved back to Pakistan. Soon after, Pakistani Tea House, another Pakistani restaurant in the area, also shut down. Fortunately, the few Desi restaurants that remain are amazing and serve incredible food. Below are three of my favorites
Pak-Punjab Deli, located in the East Village, just 5 minutes from Grace, is a Pakistani corner store that sells imported snacks and drinks from Pakistan along with hot food, tea, and coffee. The people working at the deli are very kind and almost always offered me a free soda on my research trips.Â
Punjab Grocery and Deli is a Punjabi deli in the Lower East Side that also serves South Asian food and snacks. The deli is spacious and has an extensive variety of dishes to choose from. They also have a freezer of Kulfi, a mouth-watering South Asian ice cream dessert. The deli's front window has flyers and reminders for many community events. Punjab Deli is a place that people gather and socialize.
Fresh Curry is a small restaurant located in Tribeca. The restaurant serves Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi food. They have a wide array of rice, meat, veggie, and bread dishes that are made fresh in the back of the restaurant. They also have a large variety of drinks such as organic juices and sodas that are imported from South Asia. What really intrigued me is how the restaurant has its own mosque in the back of the space. Fresh Curry serves as a gathering place and communal area for those passing by or residents of Tribeca.
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