NY Dosas, a beloved vegan food cart in Washington Square Park, serves up legendary, made-to-order dosas with a side of salsa and smiles from the charismatic Thiru Kumar.
"This vegan dosa cart in Washington Square Park is as legendary a landmark as any New York City monument, and so is the dosa man (Thiru Kumar) who runs it. NY Dosas serves South Indian staples like dosas filled with curried vegetable and potato, as well as roti and samosas every day except Sunday, from 11am to 3pm out of a little cart by the dog run in the park. All of the dosas are served with coconut chutney and sambar, and you can pay with cash or Venmo." - neha talreja, carina finn koeppicus, bryan kim
"Masala Dosa "I discovered this when, at Gourmet, I did a TV show called Adventures with Ruth. One episode of it was Jeffrey Wright and I went and took cooking classes from a Julie Sahni, a very famous cooking teacher in Brooklyn. And we explored Indian New York. Dosa batter is complicated. It is not something you really are gonna do at home. It is so wonderful. I love texture. The crispness of the Dosa, it's the pancake itself against the softness of the potato filling. And then you have the chilies in there. It's great. Plus, [Thiru Kumar, the owner], he's just a lovely man. I grew up playing in Washington Square Park where the only food you could buy was the Good Humor man, Tippy. So we always went to Washington Square Park hungry, knowing we were gonna get ice cream, and now I go and get masala dosa. There's something wonderful about the evolution of New York." - brennan carley
"Thiru Kumar isn’t exactly wanting for attention. No matter the season, throngs of admirers tend to line up at his cart in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, where NY Dosas has sold this iconic South Indian dish for two-plus decades. Clippings of articles from newspapers in France, Japan, and the United Kingdom, along with screen grabs from his numerous video appearances on channels like Vice’s now-defunct Munchies, wallpaper Kumar’s cart." - Mayukh Sen
"Sure, checking out that big white arch in Greenwich Village is pretty cool, but NY Dosas is a better reason to come to Washington Square Park. This little cart by the dog run serves an all-vegan, South Indian menu, which includes items like chopped roti with vegetables, samosas filled with potatoes and peas, and dosas made with lentil crepes. In theory, a lot of NYU students will be dozing off in lectures in the middle of the day, which should mean shorter lines. This cart is only open from 11am to 3pm Monday-Saturday." - Bryan Kim, Kenny Yang, Hannah Albertine
"This cart has perched on the southern edge of Washington Square Park for almost 25 years. The crisp dosas with a savory potato filling are crafted on the spot, garnished with a pair of chutneys, and accompanied by a cup of sambar, a spicy vegetable soup. Other meals and snacks include samosas and uttapam. (Call the number above to see if Thiru Kumar will be in the park that day.)" - Robert Sietsema
