Dine Like an Expert: Navigating Neehee’s Indian Street Food Menu
Plus, a favorite pizza spot in the Short North added lunch. Here's what to order.
Navigating Neehee’s Vegetarian Menu with Food Blogger Malini Swank
By Bethia Woolf
Since opening in Columbus in 2019, Michigan-based Neehee’s (6080 Sawmill Road) has become a destination for Indian street food. Its spacious, bustling interior is often filled with large Indian families enjoying the entirely vegetarian menu. The Neehee’s menu—featuring more than 100 items—can be a bit overwhelming for those of us not as familiar with the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent.
To help navigate the vast menu, I enlisted the expertise of local blogger Malini Swank of @lakesandlattes and her mom, Tanushree Dutta (Tina), who grew up in Calcutta before moving to the U.S.
How to Order at Neehee’s
Malini likens Indian street food to tapas in that you order a few small plates to share. She recommends ordering a couple of items per person (ideally from different sections of the menu) to create a variety of textures, temperatures and flavors. For example one pakora (aka pakoda), one chaat, one dosa, etc. (Pro tip: Dishes that include yogurt will be served cold.)
Malini tends to gravitate toward dishes that are difficult for her to replicate at home—like papdi chaat and dosas.
As with dim sum, dining in a larger group allows you to try more dishes. But if you’re solo or in a small group, sampler platters like the chaat platter or a Gujarati thali offer a great way to explore.
At Neehee’s, you’ll order at the counter and receive a buzzer to pick up dishes as they’re ready. We suggest ordering only a few items at a time so your table doesn’t fill up with food that could get cold or soggy.
Chaat
Think of chaat as more of an appetizer and items like dosas, chole bhature, sandwiches and wraps as entrée-sized. Chaat refers to a broad category of savory street snacks that balance sweet, tangy, spicy and salty flavors. They're usually built on a crispy base, such as a deep-fried wheat dough or lentil fritters, and topped with chutneys and garnishes.
If you're unsure what to try or just want variety, go for the chaat sampler platter—and if you don’t see it on the menu, just ask. It includes six types: sev batata puri, dahi puri, bhel puri, masala puri, papdi chaat and dahi vada. It’s a fun way to discover your favorites.
Dosas
Dosas are thin, crispy crepes made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal (black lentils). Because dosas are usually cooked on just one side, they’re golden brown on one side and soft and pale on the other.
You can get dosas served plain with chutneys and sambar, or as wraps filled with spiced potatoes, vegetables or other savory fillings.
Malini and Tina love the Mysore masala dosa, which is filled with potato masala and has a thin layer of spicy chutney. (Mysore is a city in India's southwestern Karnataka state.) For a milder option, go with the classic masala dosa.
Malini’s technique for eating a dosa: Tear off a piece, scoop up some potato curry and dip it into the chutneys. The accompanying sambar—a tamarind-flavored vegetable and lentil soup—can be dipped into or eaten by the spoonful. (Tina prefers the latter.) At Neehee’s, the chutneys tend to be peanut and cilantro-based, but other restaurants may serve coconut or tomato versions.
Pakodas
Also known as pakoras (or bhaji in England), these fritters are typically vegetables dipped in a spiced chickpea flour batter and then deep-fried. Common types of pakoda include onion, chili pepper, cauliflower or mixed vegetables, and they are usually served with one or two chutneys such as mint-cilantro or tamarind. Neehee’s offers several fried fritter snacks ranging from onion pakodas to methi gota, a Gujarati snack of deep-fried spinach and fenugreek leaves (methi).
Recommended Dishes
Pav Bhaji
Think of pav bhaji as a spiced Indian version of a Sloppy Joe. A specialty from Mumbai, it features three toasted, buttered buns (pav) served with a rich, slow-simmered vegetable gravy and chopped onions so you can build your own sandwiches. It's flavorful and balanced, not overly spicy. On our visit, it was clearly one of the crowd favorites.
Vada Pav
Another sandwich-style dish, vada pav features a potato cutlet inside a soft bun. You’ll find it under the “Roadside Burgers” section of the Neehee’s menu. The restaurant offers three variations: garlic butter, chutney and dabeli (a sweet, spicy and tangy version). Unlike dosa or chaat, pav items hold up well for takeout.
Dahi Puri
Many Columbus foodies were introduced to pani puri by chef Avishar Barua at Agni. Neehee’s is also a great spot to try pani puri—and its cooler cousin, dahi puri. The crisp puri shells are filled with potatoes, black chickpeas and onions, then topped with sweet tamarind and spicy mint-cilantro chutneys. They’re finished with yogurt (dahi) and garnished with crunchy sev (fried chickpea flour vermicelli). Eat them quickly! They’ll get soggy fast.
Neehee’s also has a robust menu of Indo-Chinese fusion dishes, but that’s a topic for another day!
More Pro-Tips
Neehee’s ice cream counter, its yogurt-based lassi drinks and faloodas are also worth checking out. Faloodas, thick dessert-style milkshakes made with vermicelli noodles and basil seeds, are best saved for after the meal.
Indian restaurants tend to fill up later in the evening. Neehee’s usually gets busiest after 7 p.m., with a peak around 8–9 p.m.
Neehee’s has a kids’ menu that includes some fun options like paneer poppers and a cheese-and-jam dosa.
Where Else to Find Great South Asian Street Food in Columbus
Taj on Fifth – Open only since last fall, Grandview’s Taj on Fifth is already a favorite of Malini’s for their chai and chaat happy hour.
Food Street – Hailing from New Jersey, this Pakistani eatery in Clintonville is known for its gappa chaat–a giant-sized, pani puri-style chaat.
Dosa Corner – This Old Henderson Road spot is the OG for dosas and South Indian vegetarian fare in Columbus.
Cake Walk Indian Bakery & Cafe – Located in Lewis Center, this strip mall spot is one of Malini’s go-tos for samosas, chaats and aloo tikki.
Bawarchi Biryanis – Not only pros at biryanis, this Sawmill Road restaurant is one of Malini’s top spots in Central Ohio for dosas.
Cha Sha & Coffee – This Pakistani cafe on Bethel Road has some fantastic chai drinks including its Kashmiri chai. Malini says not to miss Cha Sha’s pistachio falooda and street snacks.
READ MORE»» Dine Like an Expert: A Visit to Aangan India Bistro with Create Your Curry’s Bidisha Nag
Psst … Paulie Gee’s is Open for Lunch
By Bethia Woolf
Paulie Gee’s Short North (1195 N. High St.) is one of those places that consistently delivers but still feels underrated. The pizza—both Neapolitan and Detroit-style—is excellent, and the rest of the menu is just as thoughtful, focused and simple.
Paulie Gee’s arrived from Brooklyn in 2016 and still doesn't take reservations, making it tricky for families to visit or anyone trying to plan around a tight schedule. That said, it’s always worth trying to snag a table.
So it was great news when Paulie Gee’s started opening for lunch. It’s a welcome option for people who love the place but can’t always swing dinner, especially with kids or a packed evening routine. I really hope the lunch service sticks around—it’s just busy enough to be sustainable, but not so packed you can’t find a seat!
What to Order
You can’t go wrong with the accurately named, wood-fired Dough Pillow with butter, but it’s tough to choose between that and the lemon garlic ricotta with housemade focaccia.
Pizza is obviously where Paulie Gee’s excels. Choose between the Neapolitan pies (also available with vegan toppings) or the more decadent Detroit-style “squares.” I’m a sucker for the pep and burrata square.
Sandwiches are new territory for Paulie Gee’s. When we visited there were two options, both on housemade focaccia. The Morty D is stacked with mortadella, burrata, pesto, arugula and Parmigiano reggiano, while the more brunchy Egg on Toast features mozzarella, chipotle aioli, crispy speck and a sunny side up egg.
For something lighter, the lunch menu offers two salads. One is Caesar-esque and the other is the Out Together, the restaurant’s longtime house salad with romaine, cucumber, red peppers, leeks, cherry tomatoes and ditalini pasta tied together with lemon Parmesan dressing. You can add guanciale or pepperoni. For $6, you can also add a side salad to one of the sandwiches.
Lunch is available 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Paulie Gee’s is great at accommodating vegans, but you won’t find gluten-free pizza.
Love this! Reminds me of the Mortadella Focaccia sandwich recipe I adapted from L.A.-based Roman cuisine restaurant Mother Wolf for easy home cooking!
check it out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com/p/recreating-evan-funkes-la-mortazza