There's a specific kind of hunger that isn't about food. It's about home. And when it hits, no amount of good Thai takeout or a decent burger is going to fix it. I need the smell of karahi and the sound of Punjabi being shouted across a kitchen.
That's the hunger that sends me renting a Zipcar, crossing two rivers, and driving from Brooklyn to Secaucus, New Jersey, on purpose, for dinner.
Lahore Restaurant, 1277 Paterson Plank Rd, Secaucus, NJ
I won't pretend the drive is convenient. It isn't. But the people at Lahore Restaurant know me now. I walk in, and before I've even ordered, someone's already pouring me chai to wait with, because they know what it took to get there, and they're not going to let me stand around thirsty while I do it. That's not service. That's hospitality, the kind you only get from people who understand exactly why you drove that far.
I always order enough for two days. Not because I'm meal-prepping, but because I know I'm not making that drive again tomorrow, and I want this feeling to last a little longer than one meal.
Food Street, 141 Front St, Secaucus, NJ & now 617 Grand St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Right around the corner from Lahore Restaurant is Food Street, burgers and rolls, the kind of food that doesn't try to be fancy and doesn't need to. It tastes like my sister-in-law's kitchen when I go home to visit family. That's the highest compliment I know how to give a restaurant.
The good news: you don't need a Zipcar anymore. Food Street opened a Williamsburg location, and I've started ordering delivery through UberEats straight from the Brooklyn spot, same food, same feeling, minus the two rivers.
If you're in NY or NJ and you want Pakistani food that tastes like someone's actual home cooking, not a version of it, the real thing, these are my two. Go hungry, and don't rush the chai.