Little Kabab Station Brings Affordable Indian Food to Mt. Kisco

It's Mount Kisco's newest hotspot, attracting the likes of Bill Clinton and Martha Stewart and being heralded as "one of the best additions to Mt. Kisco in years" in online discussion boards. But it's not exclusive or even expensive. It's the tiny eat in/take out Indian eatery on East Main Street, the Little Kabab Station.

Opened the first week in February by Indian native and Bedford Hills resident Bonnie Saran, 35, the Little Kabab Station boasts six tables of two. Business has already tripled since opening.

"Last week, I got a call from this guy. He said, 'We want to book a table for 12 people,'" Saran said. "I asked, 'Have you ever been here? If you have 12 seats, you have the whole restaurant. It's a really tiny place!' But they still came in, and we joined all the tables."

A party of 12 is the least of surprises to pop into the Little Kabab Station. When Bill Clinton stopped in, restaurant staff were elated.

"He came in and all my staff was calling up their villages, where everyone was sleeping, in India," Saran said. "Meeting a president of the most powerful country in the world—it was 4 in the morning in India, but they didn't care, they were calling everyone."

Saran is no stranger to the restaurant business. Inspired by her mother's cooking, she choose to pursue event planning and restaurant consulting after earning a master's degree in finance and marketing in India. She's opened several Indian restaurants as a consultant, including Bollywood Bistro. But through her career, she dreamed of a smaller scale restaurant where Indian food was affordable. Her dream finally came to fruition in the Little Kabab Station.

"I've always wanted a small place," Saran said. "I always had a model to provide good and affordable Indian food."

The one-room eatery is decorated kitschy and hip, paneled with the kind of wooden boards that are tacked on the back of the trucks in India. The tops of the walls are bordered with images of Indian trucks.

The theme and feel of the eatery is designed to mimic those in India where the truck drivers eat while on the road.

"All these truck drivers, when they drive at night, stop at these really tiny places to eat because they can't really afford to go to big fancy places," Saran said. "And that's the places where you get really good food. The tiny places by the road."

This reporter jumped at the opportunity to, on a sick day, take out four of the most popular dishes from the Little Kabab Station: Chicken Tikka Bombay Frankie Roll, Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Rogan Josh and Rosemary Naan. All four dishes were fresh, vibrant, and aromatic — and totaled $25.

It is all too often that we see Indian restaurants come and go, appreciated for their exotic offerings but still outlived by more affordable and easily accessible Italian or Asian. But Bonnie Saran's new Indian restaurant model brings high-quality Indian cuisine to the masses.

The kitschy, casual style of the Little Kabab Station, coupled with their passionate staff and truly fresh flavors prepared with both care and tradition, is on the fast track to becoming a well-loved staple in our community.

"I don't want a big place, I don't want a fine dining restaurant," Saran said. "Here people can just walk in, use the wi-fi, eat and drink. And stay for hours."

IF YOU GO, YOU SHOULD KNOW...

The Little Kabab Shop is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, and is located at 31 E. Main St. in Mount Kisco—across from the Cafe of Love. The number is 914-242-7000. The menu is posted online.

Lunches range from $6 to $8 and dinners from $9 to $12. All packaging is compostable, and produce is obtained from local farmers whenever possible.