Best place to feel as if you're on MTV India
Truth be told, we've never seen MTV India, but after spending some time standing in line at Punjabi Dhaba in Inman Square, where the Indian pop-music videos squall from a television in the corner, we can imagine a little what it's like. Despite Punjabi Dhaba's cramped quarters, you can't help but be swept out of your sneakers and into tales of epic romance and mountainside love songs - not quite The Sound of Music, but something riotous, passionate, and really high-pitched. Almond-eyed beauties gaze into the eyes of their men, then flee from embrace, their suitors at their heels. It's story and song and dance. And it's a good way to pass the time while you wait in line, which you inevitably will here. (We're not the only ones who rank this place best.) There's a roadside appeal to Punjabi Dhaba, making for a cool balance between grand-scale pop and Indian-style truck stop.

Punjabi Dhaba, 225 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, (617) 547-8272.