A friend and self-proclaimed Vik's Chaat Corner addict was anxious about the restaurant's move to a new location. He'd been going to the warehouse/restaurant practically since it opened in 1989, and feared the new spot would destroy the cult-like gestalt of the place.
One bite of the chicken kathi kebab and his fears were put to rest. All that had changed, in his opinion, was the space itself.
A little more than a month ago, the Chopra family moved into a larger warehouse about two blocks south of the former store on Fourth Street in Berkeley. Even before I got there it was evident I was on the right trail - the aroma of coriander, cumin and cardamom pulled me down Fourth to a bright, rust-colored building with glass bricks around the exterior.
At the old location, the beat-up trash cans were the most artistic element of the dreary space, so I wasn't expecting much more than fresh paint and clean concrete floors. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
Compared with the old space, the new location is like the Taj Mahal, what with the bright blue and gold walls washed in light streaming in from the skylights. There's still a counter where diners order, but on the perimeter are separate cooking stations for chaat, bhatura, dosa, lunch specials and taava. On weekends, generally after 3 p.m., the sign for lunch special comes down, and the tandoor sign goes up. This specialty can't be done any earlier than that because the place is simply too busy.
Diners' names are called when the food is ready, and they head to the appropriate station to pick up the plates - paper, of course. With five or six orders waiting on the counter, it's often hard to know which is yours.
My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, so it was like an aerobics class as I was called to the counter to first pick up the dosa ($6.50), then the samosa ($4.75) and then the chicken biryani ($6.25), spiced pieces of bone-in meat embedded in fragrant yellow-tinted rice, a specialty offered only on weekends.
At busy times, diners end up running an obstacle course as they wind their way around strollers, people waiting to deposit their leftovers in one of three recycling bins, and newcomers trying to get their bearings in the new space. The former location seated about 110; this one has about 40 seats more, but diners still jockey for places at the stainless steel tables, and often bus and clean their own tables.
