“Where Chili-Pepper Lights Meets Christmas-Tree Lights” (Panna II Indian Restaurant)

Panna II is an Indian restaurant with the unusual slogan: "Where Chili-Pepper Lights Meets Christmas-Tree Lights." Don't ask.

http://www.panna2.com/index.html
"Where Chili-Pepper Lights Meets Christmas-Tree Lights"

PANNA II is the original Indian Restaurant on 6th Street that have been recognized by the Village Voice and Time Out NY (two of New York City's leading authority on life in the Big Apple) for our Wild & Creative Decoration and for our Commitment to serving you the Finest Indian Food in the East Village. So, don't accept imitation when you can have the original.

Ø Our menu is constant but our recipes are peerless.

Ø Our price is wallet-friendly, so you can visit us everyday of the week.

Ø PANNA II has no other location at this time and our recipes of Delicious Indian Food are owner/chef's secret.

FYI: Join us during lunchtime, same delicious food and even bigger saving on your wallet with Lunch Special.

Our Location

PANNA II Indian Restaurant is located in the heart of East Village, 93 1st Avenue between 5th & 6th Street, NYC 10003, on the second floor right hand side. Telephone number 212 598-4610. Open 12:00pm to 12:00am 7 Days a Week.

http://community.iexplore.com/planning/journalEntryDining.asp?JournalID=37788&EntryID=22719&n=Panna+2
I love Panna's slogan: "Where Chile-Pepper Lights Meets Christmas-Tree Lights." Ha! They aren't kidding! All kinds of differently shaped red lights hang low from the ceiling—I had to bend down lest I get hit in the head. Amongst the mishmash of lights, you'll also find beach balls, disco balls, Hawaiian leis... yes, the kitsch-o-meter shoots right through the roof here.

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_140/whichsideareyou.html
Volume 75, Number 33 | January 4 - 10, 2006
Which side are you on?
Milon and Panna II play for keeps on Curry Row
By Annie Karni
(...)
If the competition is real, and the similarities between Milon and Panna II are not the most uncanny coincidence in the East Village, which restaurant is the original? Finding out who came first depends on what you mean by the word "first."

"Milon is the original. We opened in 1982, five years before Panna II," says Ahmed. Ahmed had hoped to combine both spaces into one restaurant, but tenants who feared the pungent scents of samosas and biryanis rising through their floorboards prohibited Milon from expanding into the neighboring cooking space.

Regardless, Panna II opened next door as an independent establishment in 1989, but Khan credits his restaurant as the original. "In terms of the signature lighting and the booming business, Panna II came first. Before us, nobody had the Christmas lights, the Chili peppers. Nothing. We did lights, then they started copying," says Khan. "Before us, business was slow, almost non-existent. Customers started coming when they saw our decorations."