Travel Restaurants Goa-Inspired Cooking Gets Its Due in New York City Chef Hussain Shahzad is bringing the most popular dishes from his acclaimed Mumbai restaurant O Pedro to America. By Maria Yagoda Maria Yagoda Instagram Twitter Maria Yagoda is a senior editor at Food & Wine, where she has worked for five years, specializing in restaurant and travel coverage. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on January 22, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Food from the Indian state of Goa rarely appears in American restaurants, but New York is about to get a lot of it all at once. Starting in February, chef Hussain Shahzad's acclaimed Goan-inspired restaurant, O Pedro, will travel from Mumbai to New York City, making it the fourth restaurant-in-residence at Intersect by Lexus since the program launched in 2018. Intersect by Lexus The eclectic bar and restaurant, which riffs on traditional Goan cuisine and its Portuguese influences, spotlights Shahzad's favorite ingredients, techniques, and drinks from the famously chill southwestern stretch of Indian coast. During O Pedro's four-month stint in New York's Meatpacking neighborhood, he aims to show off dishes and flavors that many Americans have likely never experienced. Intersect by Lexus Take the Choriz Chilli Taco, one of O Pedro's most popular items. Goa is the only state in India that makes sausage, Shahzad says, and O Pedro takes chorizo (brought to the region by the Portuguese centuries ago) and piles it onto a chewy taco of thin, pillowy bhakri. "They're the only people who mastered making sausage in a subtropic climate," Shahzad says. "Where every other charcuterie comes from, it tends to be colder regions." Having traveled extensively in Goa and Portugal before opening O Pedro in 2017, Shahzad is particularly interested in reviving waning traditions like wood-fired breadmaking. Every table at O Pedro—and soon at Intersect by Lexus—showcases a sourdough version of Goan yeast-leavened bread, served alongside "balchow" butter. Balchão is a super-spicy, pickle-like preparation most commonly associated with shrimp and seafood; the Portuguese also brought vinegar-based pickling to Goa, and thus to India. "As Goans, we added spices and chillies to accentuate the pickles," Shahzad says. "So it's smoky, sweet, sour, and spicy." Intersect by Lexus Other dishes making it to New York for the first time will be purple potato and kohlrabi danger (seasoned fried patties "inspired by the Hindus of Goa"), pork neck assado ("great marbling, great fat-to-meat ratio, great on the grill"), Alaskan King Crab Kismur (crispy and tossed with chillies, curry leaves, and fresh coconut masala), and some classic Lisboa pastel de nata. Intersect by Lexus The menu also includes some of the drinks that have made O Pedro one of Mumbai's coolest cocktail destinations, including "Not a Bloody Mary," which is made with clarified tomato water, chorizo, and a celery chilli rim. Below, find the O Pedro menu that will be served at Intersect by Lexus. COCKTAILS Pedro's Gin & Tonic Mr. Fernandez's Fancy Drink Vasco Sour Not A Bloody Mary Meri Tai BREAD Sourdough Poee with 'Balchow' Butter QUARTER PLATES Charred Pumpkin Pâté 'Canned' Sardines Lamb 'Guacamole' HALF PLATES Lotus Root Chilli Fry Purple Potato & Kohlrabi 'Dangar' Seafood Tower Prawn 'Balchow' Crispy Puffer Fish Alaskan King Crab 'Kismur' Chorizo Braised Octopus Quail 'Piri-Piri' Choriz Chili Taco Veal Tongue Carpaccio Roasted Bone Marrow FULL PLATES Sun-dried Green Pea Curry 'Watana Rassa' Goan Striped Bass Curry 'Sheet Kodi' Whole Red Snapper 'Rechado' Pork Neck 'Assado' Grilled Rib Eye 'Jeere-Meere' Duck 'Xacutti' DESSERTS Lisboa Pastel de Nata Crêpe Cake Portuguese Doughnuts 'Sonhos' Kokum Sorbet 'Sundae' Intersect by Lexus, 412 West 14th Street New York, NY. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit