Neehee’s – Spiciest Dish in Columbus Series

We’d passed by the big red N in the sky several times and finally decided to give it a shot.

Sitting back from Sawmill Rd. by Target and a new exercise place every six months, Neehee’s offers Indo-Chinese vegetarian street food with options for vegan, gluten-free, no nuts, and no onions or garlic.

From their site: “For Indians, food can bring back fond memories. The ‘cutting chai’ (term used for a small cup of tea) and pakoras (breaded and batter-fried vegetables) are reminders of soft rainy days, or the ‘chole bhatura’s (spicy chickpea curry with warm freshly made puris) a cold winter’s day, or an ice cold ‘kulfi’ (creamier and denser than ice cream, served in clay pots in flavors like mango and rose) a way to beat the heat. Indians love their small snack in the middle of a long day’s work or just to take a break between shopping or because it’s hella tasty!”

So many choices made it difficult to decide what to grab, so we got a little bit of everything. Definitely curious to try out some of their other sandwiches next time around.

You want some spicy vegetarian food? Look no further. Boasting 36 different dishes with a “spicy” indicator, Neehee’s overwhelmed my tiny capsaicin-riddled brain with their selections. Scouring the menu, I picked out a few items to try out, hoping to give some semblance of levels of heat to you, my fellow fiery Columbus folk. Neehee’s offers Indo-Chinese vegetarian street food with options for vegan, gluten-free, no nuts, and no onions or garlic. Knowing that, let’s take a look at three dishes of varying heat.

Samosa Ragda, Very Spicy. One of the few dishes that has three heat rankings (Very Hot, Hot, Mild), this comes loaded with heavy spices and sliced green chiles on top. Not much heat from the spices themselves, but the familiar kick and bitterness of the green chiles. Enough to grab your attention but no sweat.

Three Idiots Dosa, three dosas loaded with different chutney flavors. For this dish I was specifically looking at the Gunpowder flavored dosa, which laces red chiles into the dosa itself. Low and slow, there’s a bit of heat that ekes out, but even The Lady of the Farm was able to eat a few pinches without trouble.

Szechuan Cheese Vada Pav, a.k.a. the most unique spicy sandwich I’ve ever eaten. Spicy garlic potato dumpling, deep-fried with chickpea batter, mashed between two buns with Szechuan sauce and cheddar cheese. Oh, they also give a blistered green chile, almost saying, “you want some heat? Here ya go!” From the first bite, that addictive szechuan numbing grabs hold and doesn’t let go. Bringing the spice up to a nice cheek warmth and back of the tongue heat, it’s a friendly spiciness that says, “hey, you had a rough day, how about some comfort food.” Heading into the last bite some sniffles were starting to emerge and the numbness and linger last a few moments after.

Pleased with the friendliness of heat in all the dishes, we’re putting Neehee’s at #87. Mid-range heat, with approachable dishes for any tolerance level. When green chiles are the peak of your spicy ingredients, there’s a plateau to the punches of heat, but we’re good with that!

Update: Neehee’s recommends their Spicy Paneer Chili, which is laced with Thai chiles, to crank up the heat.

You can find Neehee’s at 6080 Sawmill Rd, Dublin, OH 43017.

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