Profile

Exceedingly North Indian except for a handful of gunpowder-strength prawn dishes from the southwestern coast, Jewel of India's menu includes the standards: chana masala (spiced chick peas), chicken makhani (known as "butter" chicken for its texture), dishes baked in the tandoor (a clay oven), marinated and spiced kebabs, and lamb that's ground, cubed, marinated, or minced, with searingly hot sauces as well as milder ones with a tomato or onion base. It's populated, predictably, by Indians and midtown office workers streaming in for the non-oily all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. Still, this place is different. The price and quality of lunch is higher than typical joints, and you're rewarded for it with the embellishments: regal, Rajasthani-made doors, trunks, and screens ornately carved out of ivory, sandalwood, and mother-of-pearl, and wall trim glittering with 22-karat gold leaf. Daily surprises may include a mushroom masala or fig ice-cream. If you're here for heat, attempt to finish the prawns vindaloo, which are fiery and tangy at once. The restaurant may have lost some of its luster in the past few years, but is still a worthwhile midtown option, and head and shoulders above its brethren on 6th Street. — Stephen Weiss

A private party room is available upstairs and can hold up to 125 people.

Lunch buffet, $16.95; chicken makhani, $18.95; prawns vindaloo, $23.95