Banana Leaf South Indian Kitchen

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Sometime during Spring Break, TORC and I went out to watch "The Runaways" at the Hillcrest Cinemas (more about movie here). Being avid rocker chicks, we wanted to see this film depiction of the first girl rock bands in the 70's, which spawned ultra badass rocker chicks Joan Jett (one of my idols) and Lita Ford. The movie was based on former lead singer, Cherie Currie's autobiographical book, "Neon Angel - A Memoir of a Runaway" which, like the trivia freak that I am, read ahead of time. Both of us also previously watched the documentary "Edgeplay" directed by former Runaways bassist, Vicky Tischler Blue. "Edgeplay" was not endorsed by Joan Jett who was noticably absent in the film except in archival footage. However, this new film, directed by Flora Sigismondi, was fully supported by Joan Jett. The main differences were that Lita Ford and former bassist Jackie Fox did not give consent for this new film and therefore, their characters are not named directly after them.  A mini write up of this movie will be a forthcoming post...

We made it a lunch date and to make things easier, had lunch at Banana Leaf on 5th Ave in Hillcrest, which was the former site of Bombay (its sister restaurant which moved across the street). Parking would be free here since we'd be watching a movie and having lunch in the same complet.  I'd read about this place  awhile ago and we wanted to try it out...

They had a menu posted outside...Check it out online here.

I hadn't been here since it was Bombay. The interior was still as beautiful as it was before. Loved the hanging lanterns. There was also a very nice water feature (not pictured).  There was a table nearby that was being prepped for a large party.

It wasn't too busy when we got there which was kind of nice (at least for me).

We were curious to try South Indian food...

TORC and I were up for trying different stuff today...

I chose the Sev Puri for our appetizer. These were thin, crisp rounds topped with spiced potatoes and crunchy bits of what looked like fried noodles (but was probably something else). The sauce was yogurt based and had a nice flavor to it. I could have eaten a bigger portion of this if it were an entree.

 

TORC chose the aromatic basmati rice which was sprinkled with black sesame seeds...Loved the slanted bowl it was in, but it looked too big for our portion of rice.

TORC wanted some naan...(this was plain, I liked Bombay's version - it was thinner and had garlic on it).

We chose the Hyderabadi curry with chicken. The curry is made with almonds, mint, yogurt and masala spice. The portion was just right for the both of us. The flavor was unusual, unlike any other curry we've tried before. I really loved the sauce and if I go back here with Bert, I'd totally order this again!

TORC chose the Masala Dosa, which is a rice based crepe filled with spicy potatoes and served with a chutney (metal dish) and a tomato based sauce (white dish). The filling actually was pretty spicy but we loved it.

Here's a moneyshot of the Dosa. See the red stuff? Hotness!

Service was very attentive at Banana Leaf and the waiters were happy to suggest recommendations, especially about the curries. After our awesome lunch, we walked up the steps to get our tickets. The movie didn't start until 2 pm and we had 20 minutes to kill.

We hauled ass over to Chocolat Cremerie to pick up some desserts to go. On our way there, we saw this
painted utility box. This was just one side of it (the north)...

This is the side that faces 5th Ave...

This was another utility box on 5th...

And this side faces West...(this is the first utility box)

And lastly, this is the side that faces East which also sports graffiti...I liked how each side of the box was painted with totally different themes. I liked the monkey the best.

On to Chocolat Cremerie!