Potthi canteen

The family (about 10 of us) made this trip down South. One of the stops was Thenkasi, to visit the Kaashi Vishwanathar kovil. Right opposite to the temple, was this little idli kadai called the Pothi canteen. What a discovery it turned out to be! We landed at this modest little kadai almost every morning to devour their soft idlis and awsome vadais and of course not to be left out - strong filter coffee. And you can be rest assured that the stuff was soft on the tummy too.

One particular day, we were so involved in eating the idlis, that we lost count of how many idlis and vadais each one of us had, and found that we ended up paying a lot more that what we ate for. However, no complaints since it was all absolutely worth it! With the amount of crowd that the guys who run the place had to manage, it generally gets tough for them to count exactly what people eat, and hence they end up doing an approximation. So the next time on, we sincerely kept count of what all we ate, and compared numbers with the shopkeeper, before we paid him the amount.

Unbelievable how such simple dishes as these could pull an audience so large every single day. Hats off to the Pothi canteen and the people who ran it.

On the same lines, a note about Ananda Bhavan, in a lane next to this Pothi canteen. They were famous around that area for the varieties of dosais they served. My favourite here was the Podi roast. HOT to the core, and simply wonderful to taste, when finished up with a strong dose coffee, what more can one ask for. Those who can't take too much spice, please stay away from this particular speciality. :)

North Karnataka Food again

Keeping up with Bangalore's tradition of small eat-outs making it big, tucked away in one of the little lanes of Jayanagar 4th block is another little foodie place which seems to attract a lot of office-goers. It is called Sri Venkateshwara Uttara Karnataka Foods.

This joint, in-spite of its size, is neat and tidy, offering a limited but decent array of items. The main menu speaks of Full meals and Chapati Meals, both priced nominally. You can choose your chapati and roti from that day's options (Ragi Rotis, Jolada Rotis, Akki rotis, Plain chapatis etc). With any meal you choose, you get two or three sabjis to go along, and a cup of curd. If needed you can also buy a glass of buttermilk to wash the meal down. They also have some awesome pickles and chutneys to go along with the meal, and if you choose the special meals, you get a generous blob of butter on your plate :).

The whole serving process is pretty quick and is the best option if you are looking for a quick afternoon meal, without too many frills ... this is a good place to be in. The whole fare gives a very homely feel, and it is the current favorite with my colleagues, as the canteen at our office these days paints a very sad picture!

Another petite outlet - UK Foods

It was lunch time at office. One of our team members suddenly decided to go out for lunch and asked if we would join him. He said he knew of this place which sold hot jolada rottis. So we thought of giving it a try.

Uttara karnataka food stores sits pretty in one of the cross roads of Bangalore's Jayanagar 9th Block. It is a small store (adding to the number of other famous small eat outs at Bangalore) selling many of Karnataka's famous eatables, which include snacks, various rice mixes, sweets etc. The store also caters to the hungry noon crowd by dishing out hot chapatis, jolada rottis, varieties of rice like puliyogare, etc.

Picture - Courtesy Sangameshwar

The food is easy on the palate and tastes absolutely home made. I also got some kodubale (a rice flour snack) and kaai obbat (pancake made of coconut and jaggery) for home, and they were really tasty.

On the downside, we need to stand and eat. However, that can be compromised for the nice food. Importantly the place is not very expensive either. So it's really worth a try.

Brahmin's Coffee Bar

It's surprising how Bangalore still has these age old little foodie joints still going strong. The first little joint I was truly thrilled about was Raghavendra stores. This weekend, another one was waiting to grab my attention.

Brahmin's coffee bar. (What a simple yet eye-catching name!) This little bar is located in Shankara puram, and long long ago started as a small shop with just a table and a stove on the table, which would spew out hot idlies and vadas. This was THE joint for BMS college goers, who used to cycle down this path and were welcomed by the owner with a quick breakfast of idli, vada chutney and some piping hot coffee.



Brahmin's coffee bar is still a small shop (though the table and stove have migrated to an actual potti kadai with the stove inside), and some tables outside. The idly and vada with the chutney is simply awesome and, you know my fancy for kharabath by now ... yummmmmm.... Coffee.. well, the coffee was absolute heaven. The taste lingered in my mouth for the next half of the day. I couldn't make myself eat anything else, fearing it would spoil the taste of the coffee. (Until, ofcourse, the thought of a corner house hot chocolate fudge made me change my mind!!)

Brahmin's coffee bar ... Go for it!

Malleswaram station and Raghavendra Stores!

The above place in Bangalore was revealed to me when a relative was admitted in the Manipal Northside hospital two weeks back. And boy! what a revelation! :)

Just opposite to the hospital is this heavenly eat out called Raghavendra Stores. A modest little place, where these guys prefer only handling the orders for a very limited tiffin menu, ofcourse apart from the piping hot tea and coffee. (After all, what's tiffin without some traditional cutting to go along?). Though options maybe limited, this does not deter the huge crowds that come trooping along to dig into the dishes here.

THE item TO GO FOR here is the Bangalore special, solpa khaara, solpa sweet - CHOWCHOW baath. The combination of khaarabaath and kesari is just awesome. Gulp it down with the traditional tumbler of coffee, what more can you ask for! If sweet is not something of your preference, have the khaarabath with a crispy vadai, mmmmmm! I'll leave the imagination to you. The idly vada, chutney sambar combination gets quite a few takers too.

A sight to see here is the number of people flocking into this little eatout, in their Innovas and Corollas, getting huge casseroles and plastic covers, filling them up with khaarabaath and vadais and what ever else they fancy. We also have relatives from the hospital smuggling some of the delicacies and taking it to their loved ones. :D. What is the use of being admitted in Northside, when you don't experience Raghavendra stores!