The Basavanagudi Food Arrangement

  • Vidyarthi Bhavan has its weekly holiday on Friday
  • Mahalakshmi Tiffin Room doesn’t open for business on  Saturday
  • Brahmins Coffee Bar is closed on Sunday
  • Upahara Darshini used to be closed on Mondays, though in the last few years they’ve been open 7 days a week
  • Dwaraka and the Gandhibazaar branch of Adigas are closed on Tuesdays (not sure of Adigas anymore, Dwaraka still closed on Tuesdays)

A wonderful arrangement by the different restaurants in Basavanagudi to ensure that they all get their weekly off, and yet not deny food to the residents of the area!

Written after a leisurely and sumptuous breakfast at Mahalakshmi. Idli-vade-khalidose-coffee.

PS: “Plain dose” and “khali dose” mean different things in Bangalore, though they literally mean the same thing. Khali dose is soft and fluffy. Plain dose is dark brown and crisp, basically masale dose without the masale.

MLTR

This has nothing to do with any pop group, or any Michael or anyone learning to rock. It’s about this awesome easy-to-miss long undiscovered eatery in Gandhi Bazaar. You should definitely eat at Mahalakshmi Tiffin Room.

Situated on DVG road between Gandhi Bazaar main road and North Road it’s an old-style sit down restaurants. Small marble-topped tables with benches. Communal seating where strangers can share your table. An ancient cupboard displaying “cool drinks”. Blue walls. Waiters in dhotis. A small section cordoned off with the sign “families only”.

And divine food. Really awesome masala dosa (real masala dosa, not the species served at Vidyarthi Bhavan). Soft and oil-free khali dosas (yeah the restaurant is so old; they call it khali dosa and not set dosa). And strong coffee. And all served quicker than you could look around and take stock of the place.

I had been walking past the place for several years but it was only when Priyanka noticed it when we walked past it last April that I actually ate there. We had shared a masala dosa and a coffee then. And were so impressed that we left a 33% tip.

And it so happened that the same waiter Raju was there when we went last weekend. Again quick and efficient service. Awesome dosas. I think they make to stock the khali dosas – for they arrived within half a minute of our ordering.

Oh, and they have a weekly off on Saturdays.