The dining room is spacious, not only by New York standards, but with the high ceilings and wide spaces, Junoon would not be out of place in a city with cheaper commercial leases. I entered into the vestibule and saw framed reviews, all from this year. The new restaurant received a Michelin star this year. I had high expectations for the my first Michelin rated Indian restaurant.
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Open kitchen. Immaculate chefs' jackets. White table clothes. Well-trained waiters. Junoon had all the makings of an upscale Western restaurant. With the exceptions of some service hiccups during the lunch, all the other ambiance aspects were in place for high end. Little quirks like the elaborate lounge seating in the bar area and the spice cellar add to the experience. But what about the food?
Junoon offers a three-course $24 prix fixe for lunch Monday through Friday. My appetizer, piri piri shrimp in a Goan chili sauce with avocado and jicama salad raised my expectations even higher than they had been. Huge prawns with a spicy sauce cut by the citrus dressing served as a delicious first course.
Whenever I go to a new Indian restaurant, I always order a lamb korma. It is my barometer dish, the standard that I use to compare Indian places. Granted, not all Indian places do an excellent korma, but unless an Indian place specializes in something else, my favorite dish is an acceptable measure. The lunch prix fixe menu at Junoon had a chicken awadhi korma with toasted cashews, cream, green cardamon and saffron, not quite what I wanted, but close enough. The curry dishes come with excellent naan and basmatti rice. In fact, the naan was the best I've ever had. Unfortunately, the korma was one-dimensional and unbalanced in flavor. The only flavor profile I remember is salty. In retrospect, for a restaurant like this, I should've picked a more modern, fusion dish. Nothing about Junoon was traditional; I imagine that the best dishes wouldn't be in a typical Indian household.
A finely shaped cube of cardamon kulfi was my dessert. Kulfi is often characterized as Indian ice cream, except it isn't whipped. The result is a dense block of creamy mouth feel, but digging at it with my fork felt like chiseling a block of marble.
I wanted to like Junoon more. I encourage some diversity in Michelin's guide. I'll have to return to try the more famous halibut or lamb dishes for dinner and give it the attention that the restaurant's interiors inspire.
Junoon
junoonnyc.com
27 W. 24th St.,
Flatiron District, Manhattan
(212)490-2100
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