I was ready to revel in meatlessness, to romp through a menu stocked with bread and vegetables, to fill my belly with fibrous things. In short, I’d become a struggling Vegetarian in a carnivore’s world and I was so excited to try Madras Café I was hopping up and down on the sidewalk.

There’s a dark, unfathomable gap between behavior and inner reality. In fact, a near-constant tummyache recently sent me to the doctor, who was reliably unimpressed. Her pricey professional advice was: change your diet. Go meatless. “Try it as an experiment.”

Doomed to gastric distress or life without sliders, pork buns, and fattened duck livers, I sought comfort at Madras Café. While just around the corner from Indian Row’s hecklers and chintzy glitz, Madras is in a different league—quiet and welcoming with warm rust-colored walls, and a veggie-vegan-kosher-friendly menu that clearly marks dairy content and spice level. You might see one of the rare lone diner species, or even actual Indian people, eating here.

Highlights are the dosas: thin, non-greasy rice crepes wrapped around savory fillings like potato masala, peas and onions, and served with a side of spicy tomato sambar, and a grits-like, tongue-scorching chutney. At $9, it’s pricier than a visit to the Dosa Man but for a nice sit-down place, what do you expect? The samosas ($5) are two crisp vegetable turnovers filled with potato, nuts and spices, perfect for sharing. For a main dish, the Kofta Curry ($10–pictured) arrives as three falafel-like veggie meatballs covered in a buttery tomato sauce. I can’t resist a decent mango lassi, a silky-sweet yogurt drink that doubles as dessert, although I prefer the tartness of Lassi’s. Beware of the lentil donuts, which were leathery and weirdly resisted soaking up their bath of creamy curry sauce.

Will I stay a vegetarian? I doubt it. But I do like experimenting.

Madras Café, 79 Second Avenue Mon-Sat noon-11pm, Sun noon-10pm

Indian Bread Co. Vs. Kati Roll Company, Inc.

Kati Rolls are Indian mini-burritos, or the hungry pub-crawler’s holy grail, depending on how you look at it. They’re fast, “cheap,” portable, and greasily filling, unleashing a spiciness on your tastebuds that penetrates even the most drinky numbness. Since I live near two contenders (literally around the corner from each other), I decided that the only way to settle which would satisfy my kati jones would be a head-to-head battle. I purchased one aloo (potato) masala from each joint, ate them immediately, and judged them as follows:

Price: Indian Bread Co. ($3.50) Kati Roll Company ($4.00)

Size: Roughly the same

Sit-Down Atmosphere: Indian Bread Co. wins hands-down for spaciousness (nine tables!) and its wall-length bar ideal for the solitary diner. Kati Roll Company by contrast (three or four tables, maybe), feels somewhat claustrophobia-inducing.

Portability: Kati Roll was the winner here–the rolls were easy to unwrap and travelled well in insulated bags. Indian Bread Co.’s roll was bundled in several confounding layers of aluminum foil.

Points off: Indian Bread Co. had a random open trap door to the left of the register that had me worried I’d somehow theatrically trip and disappear forever. At Kati Roll, the counterperson placed my dollar change on TOP of another diner’s food. Even though they were partially wrapped in wax paper, this poor man’s exposed kati roll tips were in imminent danger of touching my filthy money. Be ready to grab your food as soon as it’s called.

Tastiness: While the rolls at Kati Roll seemed slightly greasier, the paratha had a pleasing flakey crispness on the outside and the potato filling was milder and more delicately spiced. The sweetness and crunch of red onions added a nice contrast. Indian Bread Co. was the spicier of the two, but the filling was a uniform mush and offered less complexity.

Winner: Kati Roll. But at Indian Bread Co. I did have a decent chicken naanini (naan filled with tandoor chicken, lettuce, slathered with peppery mayo and toasted on a press - $6.50). I’d probably check out more of their menu - after all, it’s just too much fun to say “naanini.”

Indian Bread Co. 194 Bleecker Street, Sun-Thu noon-midnight, Fri-Sat noon-5am
Kati Roll 99 MacDougal Street, Sun-Thu 11am-midnight, Fri-Sat 11am-5am

Summer does wonders for my record collection. Any album I discover in June or July becomes infused with a relaxed, celebratory warmth that keeps on giving all yesr, so I tend to stock up on music. However, my appetite simply crumbles. A few stunned days in the sun, a few night sweating in bed, a busted A/C at work, and I’m a joyless husk that craves only ice cubes and pineapple wedges.

So I have to remember the places worth dribbling through 98% humidity for. Lassi, an unpromising-looking West Village takeout corridor, is worth checking out if only for its signature beverage. Lassi (the drink) is a cold silky mix of yogurt, water, and salt, in flavors ranging from mango to cardamom. It’s deliciously rich even as the tartness makes your eyes squinch. But pull up a stool for the parathas as well–hearty naan griddled and folded crepe-style over delicately-spiced fillings of your choice–potato, daikon, cauliflower, or cheese; and served with boondi raita, a chilled, mint-flavored dipping sauce flecked with little doughy balls. The challenge: try not to suck down your lassi before the food arrives.

If inclined to claustrophobia, take it to the park–the parathas stays miraculously hot in the insulated aluminum wrapping they use. My aloo parathas and 8oz mango lassi set me back $8.08, well worth it to start enjoying summer again.

Lassi, 28 Greenwich Ave. at 6th Ave.