It didn’t take long for Suvir Saran to get wind of our post earlier today, and we received a letter from the always media-savvy, and admittedly charming, food personality. Mostly, the “saran rap” — if you will — conjured up images of bucolic bliss: “I am at my farm, tending to our chickens and tasting recipes…” it began. But midway through the lengthy epistle, we came across this little tidbit: “Hemant and I will open a new restaurant in NYC sometime spring of 2008.” (Hemant, of course, is Hemant Mathur, the brilliant but bashful chef who actually did the cooking in Dévi.) We speculated earlier today that Saran’s outside projects may have led to Dévi’s demise; given how long it takes to find a space, make a deal, and create a place, one would have to assume that the new place wasn’t conceived yesterday. Saran also confirms the existence of American Masala, although he didn’t, of course, describe it to us as an Indian Olive Garden. But who can blame him for that?

Earlier: Debriefing Dévi: Suvir Saran’s Suspected Side Projects