Indian restaurant Real Usha Snacks & Sweets in Floral Park offering free lunch

Industry bailouts, corporate grants — when will the average Long Islander benefit from the government’s stimulus packages? Right away, it turns out, especially if you have a yen for fine Indian cuisine. “Real Usha Stimulus Packages,” an online flyer announces, are a creative and generous offer from an eatery that’s been a fixture in Floral Park for more than 30 years. Since last week, Real Usha Snacks & Sweets has been offering free lunches to whoever wants them, no questions asked.

“The pandemic is more than we all have expected,” wrote owner Victor Vora in an email the other day. He’s in India, as it happens, and his son Alap is holding down the fort stateside. “The idea is to do good in our community.”

And so, even as the restaurant has remained closed for regular business (Indian sweets are available online), Usha’s kitchen has been far from idle. Tuesday through Saturday, they will prepare a vegetarian “basic Indian lunch”--roti (flatbread), dal (lentils), bhat (rice), shak (vegetables) and more — and box it to-go for anyone who asks. All you need do is message the restaurant via WhatsApp 24 hours in advance.

And while cash is neither expected nor accepted, “anyone can contribute by providing us Indian groceries for this noble purpose,” said Vora, “and join hands in serving the community.”

Real Usha Sweets & Snacks is at 259-15 Hillside Ave. in Floral Park, 718-343-7500, realusha.com. Pickup is available from Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 2 p.m., and meals (one per person) can be requested from noon to 6 p.m. the day prior, by sending a WhatsApp message to the above number.

By Scott Vogel

scott.vogel@newsday.com

Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.