Savvy operators of two recent establishments in town are
making desi street food accessible to Atlantans, one with
a newfangled food truck, another a bit more flamboyantly.
Left: Pratik Jain’s Masala Fresh food truck in Atlanta.
Remember the khau galis (food streets) in Indian
cities? Well, miss them no more. That kind of fare—quick, indulgent calories in tasty bites—albeit with an
American twist, have cropped up right here in Atlanta.
Pratik Jain remembers being in a neighborhood
where people wondered what he was about as he
parked his fluorescent lime green and orange truck.
“The curious ones came, asked, and tried what it was
about,” says Jain, of his food truck Masala Fresh. “It was
a slow day that day. But the next day, we sold out. The
people who tried the food the day before came back for
more and brought their friends.”
Taking a gamble in an industry he loves, Jain shot
for the stars when he opened Atlanta’s first and only
food truck catering Indian food. The can’t-miss vehicle
of Masala Fresh stands out at the Atlanta Food
Truck Park and moves through our Southern city
hoping to become a favored spot of Indian food aficionados,
and diversifying the palettes that have yet
to bite into the masala madness.
His plans were to launch a brick-and-mortar restaurant,
but advancing on trend, Jain launched Masala
Fresh in November 2012. Six months in, and the Atlanta
Food Truck Park’s staple is the answer for instant
gratification when it comes to Indian food. “We offer
the simple dishes that everyone knows, and slowly add
our twist to them making it familiar, yet different.”
With bright colors, a striking logo, and a novel concept, Pratik Jain is
reinventing Indian street food on Atlanta streets.
For 10 years, Jain worked in the hospitality industry—
from the kitchen to management. “This is my passion,
and I worked mostly on the front end, interacting
with guests, learning likes and dislikes, and really embracing
what this industry is about,” said Jain, whose
family moved to Atlanta from Nairobi, Kenya in 1991.
This collective experience, along with following
the newest trends of food trucks, allowed Jain to take
a big risk in his career—a risk that is already turning
up rewards. “There is no shortage of Indian restaurants
in Atlanta,” he says. “But, sometimes, you
aren’t really up for the formality of dining in, and you
want something quick that also still satisfies that
craving for Indian food.”
Jain talks to his clientele everyday: what they
like; what they don’t like; is it too spicy or not spicy
enough? This interaction, the same trait he brought
over from his hotel management days, has allowed
Jain to tweak the menu by adding his own flavors on
Indian dishes that have quickly become classics
amongst the non-Indian crowd.
And Masala Fresh offers a recognizable menu:
vegetable samosas, chaat, chicken tikka masala served
on rice, paneer tikka masala, and other traditional
favorites.
“Ninety percent of the people who have come to
Masala Fresh have never tried Indian food,” Jain said of his observations. “This has given me the opportunity
to educate people about the cuisine and not be intimidated
by it.”
Left: The new Chai Pani restaurant in Decatur.
Meherwan Irani shared the same sentiment when
he spoke of his passion, Chai Pani. The restaurant expanded
to Decatur from Asheville in March 2013 and
the word-of-mouth has spread like wildfire. Just months
into its existence, Chai Pani is already a popular destination
in this neighborhood of trendy restaurants.
Irani, who was born in London and raised in
Maharashtra, talks about that “niche for Indian food
that wasn’t so formal or intimidating” as being the target
he was after.
When he moved back to Asheville, his passion for
food and cooking inspired the idea for Chai Pani. “My
goal was to introduce people to the food we actually
eat at home,” he said. “We don’t eat tandoori chicken or
chicken tikka masala everyday.”
Trying out street-side staples that most of us grew
up with, like pani puri, bhel puri, pau vada, and drinks
like nimboo pani (spiced Indian lemonade), but in a sanitary
environment with the
added panache of an ambience
that is professionally
crafted, is an invigorating
experience at Chai Pani.
Thanks to a professional, almost
corporate approach—employing a brand
director, a marketing director, and a chef
who is an American native who went
to India to better acquaint himself with
street food there—Meherwan Irani (left) has
made Chai Pani a hotspot in the Decatur
enclave of trendy restaurants.
Michael Files, art and
brand director for the restaurant,
channeled the
organized chaos that is India.
“I love the chaos, the
colors, the street life,” he
said. Files spent one year
in Bombay working with
Gallery Chemould, one of India’s largest and most prestigious
fine art galleries. “That to me was India. Fun,
colorful, warm, and my goal was to introduce people
to India that way along with the food.” Chai Pani
Decatur’s décor is inspired by the colorful Tata trucks
that frequent Indian roads, one of Files’ favorite
things during his time there.
What Masala Fresh does for the non-Indian crowd
through mobility, Chai Pani does through brick-and-mortar.
Both ventures have brought a taste of nostalgia
for Indians and a dive into adventure for others. The
establishments complete the experience through the
presentations, selling Indian cuisine as more than just
an elongated influence of the Mughal Empire.
With Masala Fresh’s neon trucks donning graffiti-style artwork and strolling around the city, and
Chai Pani’s photography and ode to old Bollywood
movie posters, the experience is wholesome.
Masala Fresh stands at the Atlanta Food Truck Park off Howell
Mill Road Tuesday through Sunday. Follow Masala Fresh on Facebook
to see where it rolls to next.
Chai Pani is located at 406 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur, GA
30030. ChaiPaniDecatur.com.