I just wanted to write again about how wonderful it is that this area has the Udipi Café. (It is at 4141 Old William Penn Hwy.) The food is consistently wonderful, and although the atmosphere is certainly nothing to call an actual draw, the overall experience there is always excellent. I must admit that I have never ordered their northern Indian food—why bother when the dosas are perfect and other southern specialties (such as upama, pongal avial and the moong dal dosa stuffed with upama and peppers) are delicious. Also highly recommended: the rasam. It has a great kick to it. The crowd seems to be 90% or greater Indian. When we were there about six weeks ago, a man at the next table (who was in town from Cleveland for a special puja at the nearby temple) struck up a conversation with us, curious about the white folks who had come to a place that clearly is not an impulse stop. I don't know that everyone who eats there is so curious about the non-Indians who go there, but it was a great reason to hear about someone else's experiences of the place. This guy—who had his family with him—had been told about Udipi by a friend who said that it was the only place worth eating in Pittsburgh. Anyway, worth a trip out to Penn Hills for anyone in the eastern end of the area.
Pittsburgh, PA
another plus for Udipi Cafe
I also like Namaste. Since I work near there I go there often too - but Udipi is more consistent foodwise. Namaste is certainly a nicer looking place - there IS a decor which you can't really say of Udipi. Namaste has an interesting menu that includes some Indo-Chinese stuff that is not typical for Indian places in the US. OTOH, I saw those dishes all over India. Those dishes (Gobi Manchurian is the most common) tend to be sweeter than traditional Chinese food--and the waitress at Namaste told me that her restaurant makes everything a little sweeter for American tastes. Their buffet includes northern and southern Indian food, as well as Indo-Chinese, so an interesting change from the typical curry-in-a-hurry set up. I went to Namaste with a party of 9 last week and that seemed to overtax their service resources. They just couldn't handle that many people at one table--service was spotty, food arrived haphazardly and inconsistency reigned. Maybe that is an experience issue??? After all, it is still a new place. Still, I like Namaste and I LOVE the fact that three places in this area now try to include at least some southern Indian food on their menus (Udipi, Namaste and Sitar in Highland Park). I have not tried Namaste's Monday evening Chat special - I love good chat, especially bhel puri, so I am excited, but I don't often have the chance to go to eat Monday between 4 and 6 or so when they offer this treat. One last note: although it is on Namaste's menu, I have never been succesful at ordering payassam. This is a dessert sort of like kheer, but it is served warm and uses thin noodles instead of rice. It appears that despite the fact that they put it on their menu, Namaste does not actually make this dish. Shame. De I. wrote: > Ooh, that reminds me - anyone been to Namaste yet? How does it comapre to > Udipi? And can you get there by bus? > > -- > ~De
Heidi P. wrote: > I live in Churchill and would like to try the Udipi cafe'. The only > other person in my family who will eat Indian food is my daughter. > While, I like a wide variety of beans, my daughter doesn't although she > does like a spinach and Indian cheese dish, Sounds like paneer saag which is just Indian (Hindi?) for cheese (paneer) and spinach (saag). > the name of it escapes me > just now. I believe she also liked samosas but, as a rule, doesn't like > peas. So, what would you recommend there, that my daughter might like? I love their uttapams - a thickish plate-sized pancake made from a batter similar to dosa batter. You can get them with different stuff in them. I like the ones with tomato and peas. They also have one with chunks of fresh coconut. I forget the other varieties probably because they have veggies in them I don't like. Uttapam come with sambar (lentil soup) and coconut chutney just like the dosas do. Of course the dosas are wonderful and so are their samosas. I love their lemon rice and the yogurt rice is good, too. There are lots of other great things but I can't think of them right now. BTW, I usually bring my own silverware since it is a pain trying to eat with the cheap plastic stuff they give you. But the only other complaint I have about the restaurant is not being able to get ice water - or any really cold drink. I'm not a fan of room temp. beverages. Kate
Kate C. wrote in message news:... > BTW, I usually bring my own silverware since it is > a pain trying to eat with the cheap plastic stuff > they give you. But the only other complaint I have > about the restaurant is not being able to get ice > water - or any really cold drink. I'm not a fan > of room temp. beverages. You must've not been there recently...they've gone "upscale"... they have actual dishes and dinnerware now! I've heard that they've opened a place in Columbus, OH...that's much bigger but the food tastes exactly same as here...don't know if the name of the place is the same as here though... -Laura
Namaste is on Banksville Road in the shopping center that also contains Kuhn's Market. It is next door to the Kohli's Indian market. Kate C. wrote: > How's come this is the first I'm hearing about > Namaste? Where is it? > Kate > > -- > Kate Connally > “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.” > Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back, > Until you bite their heads off.” > What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about? > mailto:[email removed]
The dosas are nothing like the northern/mughul Indian cuisine you are describing. They are giant crepes stuffed with --well, the stuffing depends on what you order, but there is a basic potato mush with varying level of spiciness that is fairly standard. They come with a thin lentil soup-y dish and a coconut chutney. Both of these sides are great when used as a dipping sauce for the dosa. If you go to Udipi you should try the dosas or the uthappams that Kate described in another message. But there are often peas in the uthappams. Good luck. Heidi P. wrote: > I live in Churchill and would like to try the Udipi cafe'. The only > other person in my family who will eat Indian food is my daughter. > While, I like a wide variety of beans, my daughter doesn't although she > does like a spinach and Indian cheese dish, the name of it escapes me > just now. I believe she also liked samosas but, as a rule, doesn't like > peas. So, what would you recommend there, that my daughter might like? > > Thanks, > Heidi > > Someone wrote: > > > I just wanted to write again about how wonderful it is that this area > > has the Udipi Café. (It is at 4141 Old William Penn Hwy.) The food is > > consistently wonderful, and although the atmosphere is certainly nothing > > to call an actual draw, the overall experience there is always > > excellent. I must admit that I have never ordered their northern Indian > > food--why bother when the dosas are perfect and other southern > > specialties (such as upama, pongal avial and the moong dal dosa stuffed > > with upama and peppers) are delicious. Also highly recommended: the > > rasam. It has a great kick to it. > > > > The crowd seems to be 90% or greater Indian. When we were there about > > six weeks ago, a man at the next table (who was in town from Cleveland > > for a special puja at the nearby temple) struck up a conversation with > > us, curious about the white folks who had come to a place that clearly > > is not an impulse stop. I don't know that everyone who eats there is so > > curious about the non-Indians who go there, but it was a great reason to > > hear about someone else's experiences of the place. This guy--who had his > > family with him--had been told about Udipi by a friend who said that it > > was the only place worth eating in Pittsburgh. > > > > Anyway, worth a trip out to Penn Hills for anyone in the eastern end of > > the area. > > > > > > > >