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It was a good sign when we arrived at 11:55 a.m. yesterday in front of Mustang Thakali Kitchen at 74-14 37th Avenue and there was already a Nepalese family of five waiting for the security gate to be lifted. We’d been looking for an excuse to drag the Brownstoner family to this neck of the woods for a walk around the Jackson Heights Historic District. Father’s Day proved to be the perfect foil, and Mustang Thakali Kitchen proved to be the perfect culinary destination. One of the only Nepalese restaurants in the five boroughs, the unassuming restaurant has not gone unnoticed in its dozen or so years in existence. Our predecessor site mentioned it last year when Bon Appetit took at unexpected ethnic eats in the neighborhood. Back in 2009 Robert Sietsema gave it a strong review when he was still at the Village Voice; one of his first moves in his new gig at Eater was to highlight Thakali Kitchen in a round-up of Himalayan food. “Really, if this meal doesn’t make you stand up and dance,” he writes, “nothing will.” Our high expectations were easily met, with unusual dishes like the sukuti sadeko (something like a beef jerky ceviche) and Thali vegetarian platter complementing more familiar items like egg fried rice, chicken dumplings and chickpea samosas. Even our 8 year old and 10 year old ate every dish and pronounced it well worth the trip. Lots of photos on the jump. GMAP


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