Mood Cafe

4618 Baltimore Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19143
(215) 222-1037
Website

A couple of years ago I wrote about the Desi Chaat House in West Philly. When I heard about the Mood Cafe, I thought I would see how the competition stacked up.

Well to my surprise, it is owned by Hassan, the same eccentric and lovable fellow as both the Desi Chaat House, and Desi Village. I should have known, with the bright orange exterior, but I thought maybe it was a building code in West Philly for Chaat places - like when your blood sugar is so low while looking for a snack that non-vibrant colors are impossible to see. The interior is simple with a chalk board menu and a couple of cases, along with the hard-to-miss back row of crunchy bits. Hassan flies around the back like a tornado once you have ordered. But a note about ordering. If you have never had chaat, just ask him what he suggests. He literally won't let you order some items because he wants to make sure the spices and sweet/sour contrasts aren't too much for your pathetic Western palette to handle. I had to talk my way into pani puri with spicy water, assuring him I have had it before, indeed even at his other place. See below for a sequence of Hassan in action.

Better yet, click below to see him in action.

Oh and don't forget the fresh, hot crunchy pieces.

Unfortunately the samosas were off limits, as they had just come out of the oven and "needed to set up for 45 minutes".

I actually didn't order (besides a mango lassie and pani puri) and just let Hassan pick two chaats for me. He went with the crazy chaat, and the behl puri.

The pani puri was served with the spicy water, and another side that seemed to be spicy water with potato and chickpeas in it. Both tasted about the same, tamarind spiked with a bit of kick. I would have preferred a bit more kick myself.

It's a pretty tasty snack (as chaat is meant to be) but perhaps the best part is cracking the top and pouring in liquid. It's all about the act, at least for me. The crazy chaat came with, well about everything you could think of. Long flat crispy noodles were the centerpiece, with dried cranberries, chunks of mango, a mint chutney, yogurt sauce, and fig sauce round out the flavor explosion. This example is chock full of six other crispy chaat pieces from around India, as well as almonds and dried figs. It's quite a refreshing lunch on a hot summer day.

One of the strangest things about chaat is that although they use many of the same ingredients, they all taste very different in different combinations. The behl puri has thin crispy sev chaat that are reminiscent of Chinese egg noodles, as well puffed rice, mango, onions, and potatoes. It again came with the chutneys, and chickpeas.

It's hard to describe the flavors used in chaat. It's sweet, salty, sour, and spicy. I guess that wasn't so hard, actually. It's everything. The cool temperature of the ingredients and the contrasting crunchy, chewy and soft ingredients can make your head spin. Although the choices can be overwhelming, let Hassan guide you through your journey into Indian street food. It is probably the most healthy thing you will eat all week. For me it is, at least.

Desi Chaat House

501 S. 42nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 386-1999
Website

I drove past the Desi Chaat House a couple of weeks ago, and I new I had to try it. When I found myself in West Philly again this weekend, it was time to give it a go. Chaat is an Indian street food that consists of crunchy crackerish pieces of fried dough mixed with a variety of sauces and proteins. The Chaat House has multiple bins lining their shelves, each containing a different selection of delicious crunchy bits. The bin they use is dependent on which Chaat you order. I am going to let you in on a little secret, you can't go wrong. Everything I ate was incredible. Bursting with fresh exotic flavors, and profiles my taste buds had never before experienced.


I ordered the lamb chaat, which was marinated strips of lamb, ground spices, barbecued in a clay oven served with chaat. They tailor each order to the spiciness the customer prefers. I like it really spicy, and they delivered. It wasn't "can't eat it because it is SO hot," but it actually provided a great blend of heat and spice. The yogurt really helped to cut the fire. The flavor was packed in these containers. I mean packed. I marveled at just how good it was. Some of the best Indian food I have had. The owner is really nice, and he loves to talk about his food. They have a great variety of sauces, and each one lends a VERY distinctive flavor. There are pockets of creamy yogurt that inadvertently become mixed with the tamarind, chili and other flavored sauces to create a masterpiece. Between two of us, we tried three dishes and even ordered a fourth to take home for later after we had already eaten the first three!


Below is the samosa chaat. When I saw samosa on the menu, I expected traditional samosas with dipping sauce. But THIS was samosa chaat. A samosa was stuck in the corner, and surrounded with beans, boiled potato chunks, sauces and chaat. There were so many contrasting flavors and textures that it was unlike anything I had ever eaten. It was fantastic.


The Dahi Ballay consisted of white lentil balls in yogurt, with potatoes, chick peas and chutney. A bit on the sweeter side, this dish was still both spicy and cooling thanks to the hot chutney and creamy yogurt sauce on top - it was quite delicious. Every single dish tasted completely different, which was a pleasant surprise.


Here is a shot of the menu and two of the workers.


Here is the rest of the menu. If you look below it, there are all of the Chaat containers.


Here is the Dahi Ballay.


So, while eating, I noticed someone outside had little puffy dough balls that they were cracking, and filling with a creamy mixture and pouring some kind of liquid in with it. It looked amazing. I asked the owner what that was, and he informed me it was Pani Puri. Pani Puri consists of crisp semolina puris filled with mixed sweet and sour filling served with spicy water that is flavored with date and tamarind. They are a perfect snack food, and I loved the spicy water. I may have liked these best of all (I also have a weakness for crunchy fried snack food). I was thoroughly impressed by all of the offerings at Desi Chaat House, and as I told the owner, I only had one qualm. Why isn't there one in South Philly? To my delight, he reassured me he was currently scouting a second location down this way. Amazing. I can't wait to go back, and I will consider that my go-to place for Indian in the city now. I mean, when it comes down to it, I am a street-food person above all else, so my Indian cravings just met their match.