This is a guest post by Jody Prusan.
This is so much more than just a story about a delicious and reasonably priced Indian restaurant on the UWS. This is what I hope will be an inspirational feast of hope and courage–and a report of one American dream realized.
It started out the way it had for years—a half dozen friends gathering at our neighborhood Indian restaurant for dinner. I’ve been going to Alachi Masala for over twenty years. The meals have always been tasty and the service friendly and lovely. Maybe it’s the climate, the times, or my place in life and growing appreciation for connection—but this last visit turned into a truly memorable and meaningful evening.
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We were all excited to order our favorite dishes: samosas, Crabs Bombay, Chicken Tikka, Lamb Vindaloo and of course some naan. The six of us began discussing who would order what as we opened our wine (it’s BYOB) and settled in. We enjoyed a delicious meal and our subsequent request for six separate checks (oh yes, we did) began a rapport with our server, who was not annoyed with us at all.
We would soon learn that the very accommodating server was also the restaurant’s owner, Amin Mehedi.
Left to right: Ryan Mehedi, Hazera Rekha, Zyan Mehedi, Namira Mehedi, Amin Mehedi
Mehedi is a proud father who came to this country as a hard-working immigrant with nothing (I know you’ve heard this before). We were simply there for dinner, but we were amazed to learn more about this remarkable person. Honestly, how often do we take the time — or even have the interest — to truly engage with our server? Most of the time, we just order… and that’s that.
Mehedi (who also goes by “Babu”) came to the U.S. from Bangladesh 33 years ago and began working in restaurants. He started as a delivery person, was promoted to busboy, then became a waiter, then a manager — and for the past 18 years, he has been the owner of Alachi Masala.
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Babu went on to share that his daughter who had attended NY public schools had just graduated from Harvard. We broke out in applause for her accomplishments, his hard work and tenacity, and the message that YES: miracles can happen in America.
Namira Mehedi, Harvard Graduation June 2025
With everything that is happening today, this connection was food for the soul. To hear his story and his daughter’s accomplishments – it was a very, very memorable and scrumptious evening!
Alachi Masala is located at 488 Amsterdam Avenue (between 83rd and 84th streets) and is available for dine-in, delivery, pick-up and catering. View the menu here and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
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