Josh & Megan

Megan and I visited our favorite Indan restaurant Cedar’s on Brooklyn last night, and from the first step in the door I could tell that something was off. At 7:00 on a Friday night I expected Cedar’s to be brimming with energy with people waiting in every corner of the small entryway, but instead I found myself seated immediately (pleased, but confused). Throughout our meal Meg and I agreed that the place felt a bit different, from the extra puffy naan to the silence where once there was vibrant Indian music (though the chai was still spot-on). Don’t get me wrong, the food was still good, but it wasn’t the experience we’ve come to know and love. As we left Megan noticed the one change that I had silently feared, Muhammed was missing, as we’re the pictures of his family that once adorned the walls.

For those of you who have never been to Cedar’s Muhammed is(was) the ever present proprietor, and for many the face of Cedar’s. Muhammed could be seen nightly taking reservations, answering phones, and generally running the restaurant every day. As a frequenter in my college and post-college days Muhammed knew me by name, often I was greeted as “Mr Josh” and given a free desert at the end of my meal. Unfortunately it appears that that time has come to an end. I found confirmation on Taste of India’s website that Cedar’s as we knew it is no more.

after 19 years, Mr. Mohammed Bhatti has sold his Cedars Restaurant to new management effective April

I hope that the new owners will find a way to bring back some of the vibrancy that the Cedar’s from my college days held, but this may be a sign that we need to start branching out and give some other Indian restaurants another try (suggestions?)