Bon Appétit: Semma is one of the 10 best new restaurants in 2022

Under the direction of chef Vijay Kumar, regional Southern Indian dishes reign at New York’s Semma: spicy-sweet Goanese oxtails, Mangalore cauliflower presented in a delicate crescent that belies a major punch of spice, Keralan banana-leaf-wrapped fish. Plus a Platonic-ideal dosa, corners tucked tightly into a triangle with a mess of masala potatoes inside, and side dishes like a parotta as flaky-soft as they come and the ponni rice Kumar grew up eating on his family’s paddy fields in Tamil Nadu. In the paddies as a child, he’d hunt for snails—which he’s reimagined into one of the restaurant’s standout dishes, served on a bed of their shells. Pair your food with one of the bar’s killer drinks, like the Whistle Podu, a particular favorite that features curry-leaf-infused gin, ginger liqueur, and cardamom. Indian restaurants may be a dime a dozen in New York—and nationwide—but the wide breadth of Southern Indian cuisine hasn’t always received the attention it deserves. Thanks to chef Kumar, who approaches the vast range of dishes, flavors, and ingredients across the region with care and precision, that’s changing. —Sonia Chopra

Read more (free)