Edgar V.
Yelp
With the recent death of John Hughes and subsequent talk thread on his movies, I made a bank shot homage to him by doing my own personal "Ferris Bueller's (Half) Day Off". Knocking off work early Friday, I was determined to maximize my half-day of freedom. First order of business: have lunch. After doing the mental Rolodex, I opted for Udipi Café since Mercedes C, Jim M, and Elizabeth M all raved about it.
Situated at one of the busiest intersections in the city (59 South and Hillcroft Avenue), it was just starting its lunch rush when I arrived at 1120 AM. The pure vegetarian lunch buffet runs $7.99 from 11 AM -3 PM. Warmly welcomed, the buffet offers at least 25 vegetarian options which are refreshingly non-frou frou for omnivores like me. The décor is a smattering of functional booths and tables - the booth tables have gotten lots of use indicated by the scratch marks in the paint where it met the wall; focus on the food and you won't go wrong.
After selecting between a plain ceramic plate and a tin partitioned plate, I heaped fresh fragrant coconut rice, iddly, yellow daal, eggplant curry, a mushroom masala, and a mild curried vegetable medley composed of cauliflower, green beans, potato chunks, and carrot onto the plate. Taking my seat, the attendant waiter quickly asked if I wanted a freshly made dosa - included in the price, I asked for a spicy mysore masala dosai. Tamarind, mint, and hot chutneys were present and make for a lovely mix-your-own for the iddly. You can also dip this Indian doughnut in either sambar or rasam soup.
The yellow daal was a little underspiced but was useful in countering the spices of the other items, which were largely on the milder spice continuum. The mysore masala dosa came out within 5 minutes but was also lacking in the fiery red chili found in the scrumptious versions at Shri Balaji Bhavan up the street.
But, the star was the eggplant curry: slices of firm meaty eggplant rested in an aromatic mild curry that worked wonders when paired with either a spoonful of coconut rice or a bite of iddly. Raised knowing the 7 deadly sins, I was sorely tempted to commit to gluttony by heaping my second plate with a full 50% of this transcendent recipe. Eating your vegetables was never so interesting or appealing - Bird's Eye or the Green Giant a'int got nothing on this.
Having had two trips to the buffet (thus, I was able to judge the merits of using both types of plates - choose the partitioned one), I had gorged on carbs in extremis. I knew this threatened to squelch my "FB(H)DO" by forcing me into a carb coma before everything else got done. But, dessert was still to be sampled in the form of an Indian rice pudding called kheer. It was creamy and flavored with the right balance of spice and rosewater but was a little light on the traditional raisins and pistachios.
Having been led here by my fellow Yelpers, I've got to say that this place works amazingly well - for the same price as a "normal" lunch, you can delight in a furtive mental trip to another continent and have your own "Ferris Bueller" moment. Go on, no one's going to tell.
