Like spicy? You’ll love Depth N Green, where everything comes with a kick of hot curry. The eatery along the pedestrian-friendly pavilion of Broad Canal in Kendall Square serves up Indian-styled sandwiches, rice bowls, thali combo plates and breakfast-leaning “Frankie rolls.”
The Gussa Grilled Chicken sandwich (GGC) is a flamethrower. “Gussa” in Hindi means “angry” – Depth N Green playfully calls its kitchen griddle the Gussa Grill – and if we’re talking about anger meaning red with with fury, one could see that cheekily to mean red with curry. In the case of the GGC, it’s a special in-house gussa sauce that gives a sweet moment of misdirection before bringing on the heat.
Packing a little less of a punch is the butter chicken croissandwich. Like the butter chicken at most Indian eateries, Depth N Green’s is smooth and creamy; unlike most, this butter bird throws heat too.
It makes sense that the restaurant grew from a line of spices and chutneys sold from farmers markets by Pushpir Bhetia, who ran the popular Guru the Caterer and a restaurant called D’Guru in Somerville’s Teele Square.
Still, the thing to have at Depth N Green is a Frankie roll, Indian street food you don’t see around here that much. These use a prantha flatbread (atta bread cooked with ghee, like a naan or a roti) as a wrap, stuffed with omelet-style eggs, raita (yogurt) and some of that spicy butter chicken with other spices. A pickled relish comes on the side, in a ramekin. There are paneer (cheese) and vegetarian versions too.
The combo platters known as thalis come with curry chicken, butter chicken or a veggie curry with grilled chapati (also like a naan) and small servings of rice, raita, pickled root vegetables and a salad to mix and match. The rice bowls come with the same curry and butter chicken options. If you want low carbs, there’s a masala omelet to explore, and it you want it spicy, there’s a bottle of gussa sauce on every table to make your heat go to 11. (And for an intriguing side dish, try the mango pickle.)
For drinks, there are housemade mango lassies and an organic chai tea steamed with milk from grass-fed beasties.
And if you’re curious about the name, it’s a reminder to look deeply and consider your place in a bigger world. On the “about” page there’s a bit about how hewing a tree in one place has an effect elsewhere, tying in climate change. I’m not sure I fully grok the message, but I adore the sentiment. No matter: One bite of that GGC and the only thing you’ll want to absorb is another glass of water.
Depth N Green, 7 Broad Canal Way, Kendall Square, Cambridge
Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
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