NYT Review: South Indian food that goes back to its roots, at Semma
The servers at Semma walk around in long-sleeve black T-shirts printed with a white logo that says Unapologetic Indian. This is a reference to Unapologetic Foods, the company that runs Semma along with Dhamaka and Adda Indian Canteen. It’s also the group’s slogan, a vow to offer cuisine that pulls no punches.
With its sly implication that what other Indian restaurants are selling isn’t quite the real thing, “Unapologetic Indian” is a virtuoso piece of marketing. You could also read it as a belated clap-back to the British Raj, which put an area with one of the world’s great culinary cultures under the rule of colonial administrators from the country that gave us mushy peas and bubble and squeak.
But after rooting around for a while in the dishes coming out of Semma’s kitchen, which has been operating on Greenwich Avenue in the Village since October, I find it hard to imagine anyone on earth who would want an apology for food this good.
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