Curry-Ya

I just want to eat the block of East Ninth Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues up whole. Chikalicious, Chikalicious Dessert Bar (love that chocolate pudding), Dieci, Rai Rai Ken, and Curry-Ya are located there. But it's getting harder to score a seat at one of these precious little eateries, because half the student body of NYU has discovered this economical and delicious street.

With this in mind, I made plans to meet a friend early in the evening at Rai Rai Ken. But it was a little bit hot in there, so we went next door to the spotless white bar at Curry-Ya, home of the Japanese gourmet curry in regular/hot/extra hot varieties. There are few dishes as comforting as a big portion of rice smothered in that thick brown sauce! We sipped oolong tea and white wine as we investigated the options. An organic raw egg over the curry? Corn? Fermented soybeans? And should we have a Berkshire pork cutlet in our curry, or giant deep-fried shrimp, or some grilled chicken? Price wasn't an obstacle, because everything at Curry-Ya is $15 or under. (Plain curry is only $7, and you can add some other little dishes and dessert to your meal for $6.)

We both decided on a hot, hearty vegetable curry, full of sweet kabocha squash, green beans, long strips of shiitake and large chunks of potato. Big plates of rice arrived with circular indentations in the middle, into which we poured our individual pots of curry. I ordered a raw egg and slathered it all over the rice. Although I enjoyed sprinkling the diced crispy onions over top, the prospect of mixing in the accompanying dish of raisins was not appealing to me. But as the nights grow colder, I know I'll often be angling for one of the coveted seats at Curry-Ya.

Curry-Ya: 214 East 10th St., (866) 60-CURRY.