Admittedly, I havent eaten a lot of chili in NYC (not that I dont like chili and Mexican cuisine- and who knows for all I know chili may not even BE Mexican- it might be a Texan thing, along the lines of pizza which allegedly is not Italian at, it’s American;-), in any case, you might want to try Mary Ann’s I think there are a couple of them around Manhattan.

I think there is a community of Mexican expatriates in the Bronx with a little research you might be able to find a place around those environs with some authentic character.

good luck
RH

Let me give you a non-New Yorker, Indian perspective.

I have not been impressed by the few NYC Indian food restaurants that I have visited. Perhaps I did not go to the right places.

A notable exception is Dawat. One of the owners of Dawat is Madhur Jaffrey who is as reputed a Chef, as an actress. http://www.savorynewyork.com/wiki/Dawat

Another thing – there is really no such things as Indian food. India’s cuisine differes vastly from one state to the next. Most “Indian” restaurants overseas focus on Mughlai/Punjabi style food.

Food from the South of India is distinctively different. A Masala Dosa is a must have to anyone who wants to complete their education on Indian cuisine. A Dosa is a crispy pancake made with a rice based batter. The Masala version is stuffed with a potato filling. Dosas are served with a South Indian curry of lentils called Sambar and Coconut Chutney I quite liked the Dosas here:
http://veganfriendlynyc.blogspot.com/2006/05/saravana-bhavan.html

More about Madhur J:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0415528/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chef_biogs/j.shtml

Though this place has received mixed reviews, I have always enjoyed my visits. http://www.klongnyc.com/ I think their prices are reasonable and I very much like the calamari appetizer. I would also suggest taking your search to www.menupages.com You can search by type of food or neighborhood and there are many reviews for free.

well i havent eaten chi8li in NYC, but you should definitely hit up grays papaya (its like a hot dog place with GREAT papaya juice)... i think thats on the upper west side. sorry!!