Actually, it’s less than three days away, but who is being pedantic…not me, especially not when there is gluttonous dosa and vada consumption to anticipate in my near future.
D.C.’s sixth meetup will occur this Saturday at Amma’s Vegetarian, in Georgetown at 1 o’clock isharp. Since none of you read that, I’ll restate it, this time with formatting:
WHERE: Amma’s Vegetarian Kitchen, 3291 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20007, 202-625-6625
WHEN: Saturday, 1pm
WHY: Because you asked for it!
Lakshmi, MuraliMannered, Ashu, Arun, Coffeeface, Portmanteau, Sriram and at least three others have all tentatively RSVP’d– what about you? For all of you who are thinking, “There’s always next time”, don’t. There may not be. Besides, brunch this weekend sounds enticing, doesn’t it? Yum. Carpe dosa!
Mmmmmmm…. slobber
Is that dosa really the size of a sofa cushion? Bet I could still finish it…
That picture is killing me. When are you coming to NY? And why do NY meetups never happen at Dosa places?
Dosa always makes me so sad. When will there ever be a decent dosa restaurant in SF? If my taste buds had hearts, they would be broken.
That Dosai picture looks really good, except for that fork in the background. Dosai should be eaten with fingers not a fork, to really savor it!
I have never consumed dosa with a fork. 🙂
The picture you posted is evil!!! I have to be at the office for a few more hours and when I get home there’s no dosa waiting for me:(
i hope there are dc meetups in august– that is when i’ll be leaving my beloved california (well for the academic year anyhow) and heading to foreign dc…
A picture is worth a thousand words. Dosais taste better when eaten digitally (with fingers). The beauty pictured in this post makes me proud to be a “southy” (I’m Telugu and a vegetarian.)
Yeah, when is the Annapalooza rolling through NYC? Siddhartha could organize it, but it just wouldn’t be the same without you.
Beautiful picture.
I’ve heard so much about this Amma’s Vegetarian Kitchen from a cousin of mine who lives near Washington. It makes me feel like NY South Indian restaurants are nowhere as good….is that true?
When I was in the 6th grade, I went to a friend’s place for lunch after school. Her mom gave me dosai and a knife and fork. I was pretty rattled, but ended up using my hands while everyone else (my friend, her mom, and her dad) all ate their dosais using knives and forks.
camille, i went to saravana bhavan near stanford, and it was quite good. i’m pretty sure it’s part of the madras-based franchise. obviously, it’s a ways from the city, but if you’re ever down there, it’s worth a try.
JESUS GIRL, i’m hungry now….
I doubt it, we have some darned good ones here. Dosa Hut, Madras Mahal, Pongal (many people like the Saravana Bhavan here, but they gave me a cold dosa once)… and of course the legendary NYU Dosa Cart Guy, who I haven’t seen in over a year.
Amma’s is special because it’s
a) Mallu
b) in a rather unlikely place– across from Dean and Deluca in a neighborhood so prissy/gentrified/popped-collar-welcoming that our Siddhartha avoids it with the same zeal the Bush twins exhibit in flocking to it…which is an arduous way to say that instead of being lodged in some dingy strip mall, it’s somewhere pretty and posh. 😉
Madras Mahal in NYC is just as good if not slightly better, food-wise…but it’s cramped and rushed (uh…it’s in NY, so no I don’t expect otherwise), which is why Amma’s is a very different experience. I love not being hustled through my food, not that I hold it against Madras Mahal for doing so. Now if Amma would]d just start serving that coffee drink MM does so well…
So New York Southie restaurants are good. Well, okay…one is…it’s also vegetarian AND kosher. 🙂
Saravanaas in New York (26th or so and Lex) rather than Saravana Bhawan is the place to go in New York. I don’t know Amma’s in DC so I cannot compare the two, but the cook at Saravanaas came on an H1B visa! His chutneys are better than any I have eaten in the US, or come to think of it, North India!
saravanaa’s is the official franchise for saravana bhavan from madras [and, oddly, the eponymously named restaurant in NYC is not associated with that chain]. i’ve heard quite good things about it, but of course, i cannot ever go there because my ex-best friend runs it…
if you can get out to queens, the canteen at the flushing hindu temple is really good – proper udipi style, with chefs from karnataka. though, in my opinion, house of dosas in hicksville is the best in the area, and they serve amazing madras coffee. as you can see, i love my dosa fix…
I feel we’ve had this discussion before, but the best dosas in NYC can be found at Saravanaas (Lex and 26th, Manhattan) and Dosa Hut (45-63 Bowne Street, Queens). In New Jersey, I like the dosas at Sri Venkateswara Temple (Bridgewater).
I don’t know which Saravana Ennis took me to, but I didn’t like it. 😀
There are two: Sarvana Bhavan (which I also dislike) and Sarvanaas (which I like) and they are across the road from each other. The latter is much better than Madras Mahal IMHO.
Since he’s a Manhattan native, I’m pretty sure I went to the “good” one; still, I wasn’t that impressed with their dosa. Who knows, maybe they were having an off day.
MM just felt more…Southern to me. Anyway, if I didn’t go to the “good” Saravana, I now have something to mock him for, forever, since Pooja and every other person I trust has also taken great pains to distinguish between the two similarly-named joints. 🙂
::
Uh, is anyone else RSVPing? Just thought I’d ask. 😉
Anna, I happened to notice that you mentioned that when it comes to a meetup, there may not be a next time. Why is that, may I ask?? Are you getting married and moving away or something? 🙂
Jokes aside, Amma’s seems like a delicious place. Unfortunately, I might be a bit tied up, and so I’m tentatively RSVPing. Hopefully I can attend, but if not, you people all have fun! And save me a dosa…
Darling – you doubt me? We went to Saravanaas, precisely because of its rep. I try to only take you to the best, although I might not always succeed. The food wasn’t very impressive, although it was near closing time so it may not have been the best time to judge.
I haven’t been to Madras Mahal for a while, but it was my favorite for years. I’ve taken many a gora/gori friend there for their first dosa. Anna, as a bonus, Madras Mahal is also Kosher 😉
😀
This comment is for Bengali Chick…what the heck happened and why is your blog down???
I keep coming back to this thread just to stare at that thing. Damnit. I had a big dinner tonight and I still feel a dull, hollow ache in my stomach. There is actually one passable Southie place here in Mayberry, but it’s a 30+ minute drive away… unnnhhhh…
PS- Those of you heading to the Houston meetup… be sure to pay your respects at Madras Pavilion.
Darn… in town, but will have to see if I can wriggle out of a commitment that my better half has made 🙂
BTW, the best place in NYC is Saravanas (not Saravana Bhavan — that place is evil!)
Reminds us, if we needed reminding, that pr0n is not just about the prurient interest, it is also about the nutrient interest! Yes, there is food pr0n, and this is a good example 🙂 To eat out, or be eaten out, that’s the question. That also explains why you shouldn’t use forks, something I was wondering about, but now understand….;)
Anna, much love and God bless, and have fun everyone!
It should actually be, “Surrender your vessels…”
zing
Camille: in the SF bay area there are some decent spots for dosa. Udupi Palace is probably the best around, Vik’s can be decent and there’s a Tirupathi Bhimas in Milpitas I’ve been wanting to try. have you tried Dosa? it’s in SF and looks to be uber-trendy… haven’t been there yet.
do NOT go to Dosa in SF!! $11.00 for a dosa is totally highway robbery. i wrote yelp review about it and the owner of the restaurant wrote me a page-long email with counterpoints…he’s a nice guy, but i’m still not sold. udupi palace in berkeley is pretty good as is my mom’s house 🙂
Udupi in Berkeley is the only place in Northern California where we eat dosa. 🙂 There was some tiny place somewhere Mountain View-ish that had excellent idli, but I can’t remember what it was called or how to find it. Udupi it is. Yum.
I like Udipi in MD, too (but I never go, b/c I don’t have a car).
Also, $11 for a dosa is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
oh that looks sooo good.
That picture is making me SO HUNGRY. A pox on those who tempt others without access to dosai.
Amma’s is great, I loved it when lived in DC. There’s also a really good udupi place out in the north eastern suburbs, near the desi shopping area, not college park but not far.
I adore Saravana Bhavan in desh and think of it as the best dosai one can have outside a home, but the one in NYC was incredibly disappointing, yuppified decor notwithstanding. It’s just a franchise for the name, do NOT expect the food to be like the Original Saravana’s (TM). Madras Mahal is much much better.
To the barmaid who I hope will read this – I miss your blog terribly, please come back.
To quote Paris Hilton, it is cruel and unwarranted (only the best sources for me) punishment to emblazon the top of the mutiny homepage with a photograph of a scrumptious dosa, vada, sambar, and chutneys.
And then there’s Anna’s buried threat that this might be her swansong, and she even ignore Mr.Wise#23’s question about it. Idle threat? Food for thought? Munch on it. Hmmm… Huuungry.
Me and The Man…maybe. 🙂
I went to Madras Mahal several years ago now (early 1990s maybe?) and thought it was very eh… After that I almost gave up on eating dosa in New York till Saravanaa opened. But many of your comments have inspired me to give MM a second chance and go there for lunch today, so its all good! I don’t promise to like it better though 🙂
I agree with the many others above: Saravanaas has the best dosas in NYC. Nearby Chennai Gardens isn’t bad either, but Saravanaas is excellent. The next NYC meetup should be there.
(Problem is, the place is somewhat small.)
Does ANNA just constantly travel the country meeting up with people to eat? Beyond SM does she have a job?
Curious,
She has a job, a full-time job at that. She also loves the SM community, who in turn enjoy meeting her and hearing her say he word “porn”.
Curious,
You are right. In fact, she even has websites to that effect.
Rahul
Hes sitl there. hes on washington sq south now east of the law school
could this feed the mutiny at a meetup?
have a great time!
okay, that’s IT. when is the next nyc meetup happening?!?!? i am sick and tired of seeing all this gorgeous food and hearing about it being eaten by cool people in other states. bring it home new yawkas, doggamit. pleeeeeeeeease?
try again
http://origin.people.indiatimes.com/quickies/msid-1412013.cms
last time!
Anybody can make a good dosa..it is all about the SAMBHAR!!! I remember back in Delhi, it used to be free refills of sambhar and we used to just sit & sip until our lips would be burning. After that a cold thumbsup..ahh fun times.
Next NYC meetup should be at a desi joint! Dosa Hut in Jersey City is excellent and for only $4 you can get your fix.
You got some excellent suggestions, but it’d be wrong to omit Dimple at 11 W 30th. Wonderful chaat, too.