It's no longer necessary to drag your ass to Staten Island to get great Sri Lankan food. Bownie Restaurant is the latest addition to 45th Avenue's fledgling restaurant row, which begins at the corner of Bowne Street and heads eastward. This promising strip is already home to a branch of Dosa Hutt with an expanded menu, a Thai/Burmese/Chinese café adept at fresh fish, and a bustling Colombian bakery and coffee shop. At Bownie (a playful adaptation of "Bowne," or merely a misspelling?), Sunday is the only day you can get appams—wonderful bowl-shaped flatbreads that can be ordered plain ($2.50 per pair), or with a runny egg melded to the... More >>>