Location: 947 8th Ave.
Time: 12:30pm
Feelings: I could not tell you how excited I was about the lacto-vegetarian sustainable fast food chain, Otarian's opening today in Midtown. It is incredibly difficult to find vegetarian cheap food in midtown, so any new veg places excites my emotions, and if it's sustainable, that's even better.
Vegetarian fast food joints have hurt me in the past. Remember Danku? I never want to think of that name again. Australian Otarian is almost identical to Danku, including the distinctly airplane food flavor.
The place was very cute and clean, and the service was superb. The menu looked quite creative from South Asian inspired dishes like Vegetable Biryani and Tandoori Mushroom O Paneer Wrap to more American dishes like Vegetable Lasagna and Tex Mex Veggie Burgers. I ordered Red Curry Noodles ($8.95, "Otarian Carbon Saving 1.05kg"), and less than a minute later, my order arrived in an adorably sustainable container. The 'noodles' were disappointingly similar to spaghetti. Fortunately it was not too mushy, but with a bland flavor of curry, this was at the same level as Danku's airplane food. It takes a lot of effort to make bland curry.
I may consider trying other dishes here, but it is about $2-$3 more overpriced than it should, and I would much rather go to a regular deli and order a veggie sandwich. It is sad to see another conceptually wonderful vegetarian restaurant failing during its execution. Can anyone please get this right? We really need a good vegetarian fast food restaurant in Midtown.
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Looks like Otarian is involved with work VISA fraud in Australia now:
"A trail of documents and emails show Dr Moghe was hired last year by Oswal Projects to tutor Oswal's 12-year-old daughter Vasundhara in Perth to help her win admission to the exclusive Lawrence School in India.
But the company allegedly gained approval from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for Dr Moghe to work as a chef -- and the working visa was granted on that basis.
Dr Moghe, who has had a long career as a teacher in India, says he never worked as a chef while in Australia.
Oswal said Dr Moghe had applied for a position as a chef with Otarian, the vegetarian restaurant business run by his wife Radhika, but admitted that he went on to work as a tutor while in Australia."
Source: The Australian
Tough times for a flamboyant tycoon:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/tough-times-for-a-flamboyant-tycoon/story-e6frg8zx-1225973580465
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