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Whether you find yourself at the Kabab King Diner or the Kabab King Palace depends on where you sit. The less-than-pristine street level is for placing orders at the sweltering counter and eating from paper plates; the second-floor, 120-person dining room, which displays a waterfall festooned with plastic flowers at the top of the stairs, is crisply decorated with ornate wooden chairs and tasseled dark-green drapes. Kababs are the pride of the house, among them a searingly hot blackened chicken tikka, as well as tubes of chopped, seasoned chicken and beef. The glassed-in steam table holds skewerless masalas and curries of vegetables, lamb, and goat, which are coated in a thick, oily sauce and served with abundant rice. A cooling, not-too-sweet lassi—a yogurt-based drink—takes the edge off the spicy food, and homemade pistachio and almond burfi, similar to dulce de leche, softens the edge. — Karen Hudes

Kabab King, which caters parties, also has a selection of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi newspapers available for perusal.

Chicken tikka platter, $9