Udupi Bhavan (South Indian Restaurant in Ashland) Dosa
Mark Mondol
Review of Udupi Bhavan
(a vegetarian South Indian restaurant)
I have to admit at the outset that my wife and I are vegetarian, so we are
always predisposed to like a restaurant that is totally vegetarian.
We went this past Friday evening, arriving around 7:30. It is located in
a small strip mall in Ashland, it took us about 45 min. from Cambridge. We
were seated immediately at a small formica table with paper placemats. The
room had white walls, drop ceiling and lino (?) floors, I mean we are
talking no decor whatever, so maybe they spend all their effort on the
food?
We ordered Iddly (steamed rice and lentil patties) $3, Rasam ( a thin,
spicy soup similar to Sambhar) $2.50, Sada Rava Dosa (Thin wheat and lentil
"crepes") $4.25 , Mysore Masala Dosa (thin rice "crepes" with hot chutney
and potatoes and onions) $4.25, Paper Masala Dosa ( Thin rice "crepes"
filled with potatoes and onions) $6 and a Peas Paratha $2. (The
descriptions in parentheses are pretty much from the menu.)
The iddly and rasam arrived together after about 10 minutes. I thought the
iddly was excellent, not too dense and good flavour. It came with sambhar
and coconut chutney, both were very good. I could have used much more
sambhar than was provided and next time I will have a side order of
sambhar in addition ($1), there was just the right amount of coconut/mint
chutney, which was also good. The rasam was hot enough for me, in my
opinion it was NOT dumbed down, though I have had hotter versions. The
peas paratha arrived sometime later and was very good, straight off the
skillet. The order of food arrival seemed dictated by when it was ready; a
perfectly reasonable approach often taken in South Indian restaurants.
After about another 10 minute wait the 3 Dosas came. The Sada Rava Dosa
was really good, good consistency and great taste. It came filled with
potatoes which is not what I expected, so the order might have been
slightly mixed up, however the fact that it was Rava Dosa was the
important part. The Mysore Masala Dosa was hot, with the advertised
chutney. The Paper Masala Dosa (or Rocket Dosa) was about 18" long and
about 6" high at the open end; they were rolled into the traditional cone
shape required for this dish. It had just the right amount of stuffing
which tasted great. I thought the rice dosa (versus the rava dosa)
themselves were a bit on the rubbery side. They looked right, but it was
too difficult to tear off a piece to dip in the sambhar. Again, I wished
that I had more sambhar (but then I always do) so I would order a side dish
of it the next time.
By the time we had finished it was about 8:30 and there were 3-4 groups of
people waiting outside for tables. As everything seemed very laid back I
wondered when these people would get served, I suspect that it is important
to get there before 8 on weekends if you want to get seated and served in a
timely manner (I doubt that they take reservations). The entire meal (no
drinks and no alcohol license) was about $24, we left food on our plates
and had clearly eaten too much food. All in all a quite reasonable price
(beats the hell out of paying $600 rt. to London!).
Next time we will try the various varieties of Vada and Uthamppam . They
do have 2 or 3 curries on the menu, like mattar paneer, if you are with
someone who insists on eating food they know. The clientele was almost
exclusively Indian (be forewarned: several families with small children).
All of the food is vegetarian. It seems to me to be traditionally prepared
south indian food; better selection and taste than the south indian food
served at various north indian restaurants around town. Truly something
for me to be happy about, if only it did not take 45 minutes to get out
there. I can easily imagine the Globe/Phoenix food critics going wild
about this place- if it was in Harvard Square with a nice setting and
substantially higher prices.
UDUPI BHAVAN
59 Pond Street, Pond Plaza
(rt. 126 south, next to Market Basket)
Ashland, MA 01721
(508) 820-0230
Open 7 days a week (12-9:30 I think?)
Directions from Cambridge: (by someone who does not know their way around
the suburbs)
Mass Pike west to exit 13 (just past Rt. 128/95) then west on Rt 30 to Rt.
126 south, go south on 126 4-5 miles, you will see a sign saying that you
have entered Ashland , then a Market Basket on the right, just beyond in a
small strip development is Udupi Bhavan.
Mark K. Mondol
mon...@nano.mit.edu
Donna Sullivan
10 minutes from the Market Basket. We are both semivegetarians and love Indian
food. Will try it this weekend.
Donna Sullivan
(P.S. I posted this to you via e-mail but it bounced.)
gayathri
>YUM!! I can't find a good south indian resteraunt out here in San Francisco.
>This almost makes me wish I were back east again. No wait, if I
>were, I would eat at my Mom's house. Nobody makes Idly and Dosa like
>mom does. Moooom come visit soon. :)
Actually, you want the best Idlys and Dosa's - y'all have to visit MY
Amma (my mother). 'Course she is on Long Island. And will only make
Dosas if I am up for breakfast at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am.
So I stay up all nite, and eat her Dosa's and fall asleep happily on
the couch while my little cousins climb all over me, and squeaky
scratchy Hindu movie tunes are played on the cassette player.
ohhh.
Actually, Maya, I cannot believe that there are not any good South
Indian Restaurants in SF, or environs. Didnt the chef at Rangoli come
from the Wrong Coast?
Gayathri
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C.Ramanathan
>Actually, Maya, I cannot believe that there are not any good South
>Indian Restaurants in SF, or environs.
There's a restaurant that I went to in Berekeley quite some time ago,
Pasand I think, that served South Indian food. The food wasn't too bad.
>Didnt the chef at Rangoli come from the Wrong Coast?
Which coast might that be, the Malabar or the Coramandel coast?
-ra
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Pradeep Deshpande
>
>
>There's a restaurant that I went to in Berekeley quite some time ago,
>Pasand I think, that served South Indian food. The food wasn't too bad.
Oh puhleez...!! I have eaten (sometime back) at all
these places on El Camino Real. IMHO, the food was cooked by
"kaminas". At pasand the Dosas were horrible and so was
everything else. The fact that the owners were Andhrahites,
was hoping for decent southie food. Especially sambhar,
seemed like they had used a recepie one's likely to find on usenet.
This weekend will try Udipi Bhavan. Thanks.
--
-Pradeep.
David A. Pearlman
Absolutely...Pasand is TERRIBLE. My first "serious" exposure to Indian
food was at Pasand in Berkeley. And after eating there, I avoided eating
Indian food again for several years. Several people had told me
Pasand was good, and my only thought when I ate there was "this stuff is
rotten." It was only later that I discovered the delights of Indian
food...If you want decent, but insanely overpriced Indian food in the
bay area, I'd recommend Gaylord's, in San Francisco. I never found a really
good, and really reasonably priced Indian place in SF/Berkeley. In that
respect, things are MUCH better here in the Boston area.
dap
--
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
40 Allston St. "There are only 25 people in the world and
Cambridge, MA 02139-4211 5 of them are hamburgers..." -- Cptn Beefheart
morisot
Boston area?? I've tried several in Central Square, but not
enough to have developed a favorite. I think they've
blended together in my mind now. So, any reviews out there?
Not just Central Square, anywhere around Boston is fine.
I'd travel for some really fine Indian food! (not veggie
only please, we are carnivores)
Shawn Broderick
i've also had one or two very yummy meals at akbar's in inman square - a
place that looks like a real hole in the wall.
there's a place on beacon street in coolidge corner/brookline near the
fleet bank and m. joseph's and radio shack and egghead (that block) that is
a bit pricey but quite enjoyable. i think it's named something like bombay
bistro. i used to live near there and it was a frequent visit. there are
a few other indian places in/near coolidge corner that never particularly
intrigued me.
the place in harvard square in the galleria didn't knock my socks off
(bombay cafe?).
i've been led to understand that a number (two or three) of the places in
back bay are well worth visiting, but i have very little data.
you should check out the boston restaurant list. i don't know where it
lives these days (used to be at osf), but check through yahoo and you
should be able to find it.
happy hunting!
shawn
--
---
Shawn Broderick
sh...@nwo.com
617/557-4574
Rob Gross
> there's a place on beacon street in coolidge corner/brookline near the
> fleet bank and m. joseph's and radio shack and egghead (that block) that is
> a bit pricey but quite enjoyable. i think it's named something like bombay
> bistro.
Right. Quite nice.
There's also an Indian restaurant on Beacon Street just past
Washington Street that's equally good.
But my favorite right now if we stick to Indian restaurants near
Beacon Street is one in Newton Center, right across from the
T-stop (all right, so it isn't quite on Beacon Street). The
service is a bit off at times, but the recent review in the
Calendar section was essentially accurate. Now if only I could
remember the names of these places...--Rob
--
Rob Gross (617) 552-3758 / 232-1838
Department of Mathematics
Boston College Internet: gr...@cs.bc.edu
Chestnut Hill, MA 02167-3806 gr...@bcvms.bc.edu
Sandeep Pathak
>Not just Central Square, anywhere around Boston is fine.
Nashua: Indian Village
IMO the best. Its the best North Indian I have had around Boston and
it sure beats a lot of crappy places in Boston too. A bit pricey but worth
going once in a while.
Ashland: Udipi Bhavan
Sorry, this is veg and mostly South Indian. But its great! Its the
most authentic South Indian food you can get. (BTW Rangoli has gotten good
reviews too..its serves S.I. food). I stepped in and the aroma reminded me
of the Udipi joints in Bombay. Its very reasonable (~ $10/pp for 1 appetizer
and a main item. We had 5 "idli" and 5 "dosai" plates and it cost us $50-$60
..for 5 people that is.). The service is not up to mark..but that is mostly
because they still havent adjusted to handling a high volume. So i suggest
trying it on a weeknight.
-deep
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Naoyuki Tai
Broderick) wrote:
> shalimar in central square is pretty high on my list.
>
> i've also had one or two very yummy meals at akbar's in inman square -
a
> place that looks like a real hole in the wall.
I used to go there (Akbar) eveyweek. 'Cause, I was eating
out every night, and an Akbar was one of my regular
restrans in Cambridge.
I noticed that Akbar's food is good, but, not best indian
restrant in Boston.
Well, I loved the Indian MTV (;-b).
They have another restran near BU bookstore area,
but, food there is not as good as Akbar does. I do not know why.
> there's a place on beacon street in coolidge corner/brookline near the
> fleet bank and m. joseph's and radio shack and egghead (that block)
that is
> a bit pricey but quite enjoyable. i think it's named something like
bombay
> bistro. i used to live near there and it was a frequent visit. there
are
> a few other indian places in/near coolidge corner that never
particularly
> intrigued me.
Bombay Bistro is the name of the restrant.
IMHO, They are QUITE good.
Rangoli, In Brighton, owned by the wife of owner of Bombay Bistro is
equally good and serves south indian food.
I like both restrans very much.
Friend of mine says, he likes Bombay Bistro best, I say Rangoli is
better. Well, worth trying them, anyway.
-- nt...@charlesview.com, Naoyuki Tai
Charles View Software, Inc. (http://www.charlesview.com)
Susanne A. Shavelson
>
>But my favorite right now if we stick to Indian restaurants near
>Beacon Street is one in Newton Center, right across from the
>T-stop (all right, so it isn't quite on Beacon Street). The
>service is a bit off at times, but the recent review in the
>Calendar section was essentially accurate. Now if only I could
>remember the names of these places...
That's India Paradise, and we ate there for the first time
last night! We had excellent service--and we both had the multi-course
vegetarian complete dinner, which was an extraordinarily good value:
mulligatawney soup
a potato pakora
a multi-compartmented platter containing our choice of two dishes
from the vegetarian menu, rice, raita, and poori
a soft drink
anything from the dessert menu
tea or coffee
for $12.95!!
The food was very good (a bit oily), and I will of course say
nothing about authenticity. We'll definitely go back.
The meal left us non-vegetarians very satisfied!
Susanne Shavelson
Peter M. Landau
though Curry is really with a "C")? Mass Ave. and Beacon St.