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Lassi is bright and cheerful— like its owner, Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez, the former pastry chef of L’Impero and Veritas. Even though she's an unlikely Indian-restaurant owner, she's a passionate one. Her food tastes unlike any other Indian in town—fresher, cleaner, but undiluted in its intricately spiced essence. The backbone of Lassi's menu is its parathas: Chewy and dense, satisfyingly grease-slicked and impregnated with herbs and spices, the bread is best eaten immediately, in its most supple, almost tender state, at one of Lassi's five counter stools. Daily specials offer customers compelling reasons to return. Small plastic takeout containers are filled with aromatic, spiced but not exceedingly spicy portions of shahi chicken. Meat isn’t the only way to go at Lassi; in fact, some of the best dishes are vegetable-based. Beans reign supreme and retain their highly individual personalities. Carlucci-Rodriguez has delved deep into the Indian spice rack, but not at the sake of her pastry-chef past. Desserts like pumpkin halwa, a creamy, grainy, evocatively flavored pudding studded with pistachios and yellow raisins, fuse her old life and her new one. They're both pretty sweet.

Cauliflower paratha, $4.25; cashew shorba, $8.95; roast pork, $19.95; vanilla lassi, $3.95-$4.95; pumpkin halwa, $4.50

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• Cheap Eats Guide 2006 (8/7/06)