Indian Accent

This high-tone, white-and-gold space in the Le Parker Meridien, in midtown, is populated by fleets of loquacious bartenders dressed in dark Nehru jackets and an impressive assortment of globe-trotting nabobs, many of whom cluster around the bar sipping tall, colorful drinks with names like Mughal Fortification and Bagpipes for Bangalore. The much-decorated chef, Manish Mehrotra, from the ancient city of Patna in northeastern India, spins out similarly flowery taste combinations (vegetarian keema made with soy and topped with quail yolk; crisped, cricket-ball-size dosas flecked with bits of black truffle; servings of morels from Kashmir dusted with walnut powder), although for maximum theatrical call for the “tasting of pappadam” supplement, which includes six gourmet interpretations of this famous snack food from regions around India, each of them arranged upright, like fluttering sails, on a long wooden tray.