It’s a combination you don’t see very often: authentic Indian food, classic American handhelds and ice cream, all under one roof. But that’s what you’ll find at Harry Food & Ice Cream, a new counter-service restaurant in Perinton.
It makes sense when you know that owner Harbrett “Harry” Singh, together with his wife, Vandana Singh, owns two restaurants in the Finger Lakes Premium Outlets mall in Waterloo: An Indian restaurant and a pizza place. When it came time to expanding to the Rochester area, Harry Singh combined the cuisines he knows well and added ice cream for good measure.
His pride and joy is the Indian fare, some of it straight from his childhood home in Rajpura, in the Indian state of Punjab. His parents and grandparents both owned restaurants there and he grew up watching them cook.
“I learned from when I’m six or seven,” he said. “This is not only my work. This is my passion.”
The homemade chicken tikka gravy, as an example, is made with 36 ingredients. His homemade white and green sauces, as well as his pickles, are his grandparents’ recipes. Deeply colored red sauces get their color from beets rather than from artificial coloring.
The bestsellers in its first few weeks of operation have been naan tacos. Naan, the soft Indian flatbread, is baked to order in a clay oven and filled with a choice of 14 sauce-enrobed proteins. They are garnished on either end with veggies drizzled with homemade sauces.
The most popular filling is sweet chili chicken, chunks of chicken sauteed with peppers and onions and coated with a sticky Country Sweet-meets-India sauce.
Another standout protein is chicken malai tikka, served in a mild creamy sauce made with yogurt and cashew paste and accented with ginger, garlic, green chiles and coriander. The marinated chicken is cooked on skewers in the tandoor oven, imparting a smokey grilled flavor before the chicken is added to the sauce.
The naan tacos are fun in concept, but they are sizeable enough that it’s hard to imagine picking one up and tucking in. One option is ripping off pieces of naan and then using a fork to add a chunk of meat and some veg.
Indian dishes may also be ordered as traditional entrees, in rice bowls or in roti tacos, which are smaller than naan tacos. Homemade naan can be ordered on its own in 12 flavors, or with hummus.
And then there’s the American dishes, including burgers, sandwiches, chicken tenders and wings. Many can be made with an Indian spin, whether it’s on or off the menu.
As an example, the restaurant offers two kinds of pizzas: Naan and regular. The naan is smaller, has a softer chew and is cut into four slices, while the regular pizzas are larger and have the usual toothsome texture. Both are served with ubiquitous toppings like pepperoni, but some in-the-know customers call in special orders with an Indian spin. Think chicken tikka sauce with paneer cheese, as an example.
The ice creams are made by Hershey’s and come in 12 flavors, which can be ordered with a topping or sauce. And again, you’ll find Indian options like a musk melon and rose petal sauce or warm gulab jamuns topped with ice cream.
Harry Food & Ice Cream is in a strip mall at 1276 Fairport Road in Perinton. It is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Call (585) 203-1836. Online ordering is available and delivery is offered through the major apps. Find more information and a full menu at harryfoodandicecream.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: New Perinton restaurant combines Indian, American and ice cream
Reporting by Tracy Schuhmacher, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
