[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by msdivy

It has got to do with the owner/cook of South Indian restaurants. If they are from coastal Karnataka (eg, Udupi) they make sambhar with jaggery. In fact, most of the dishes they make are sweetish in taste. The south Karnataka and north Karnataka dishes are quite spicy.

So true! Wifey loves the sweeter version while I am bonkers about a well made sourer one. Makes for interesting debates while ordering online, as we by now know which restaurant does what.

[marsbhp]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Both are old fmaous restaurants in Basavanagudi - Maha Lakshmi Tiffin Room and New Modern Hotel.

Vidyarthi Bhavan - more than the Dosae it's about the servers coming with 7-8 plates in a hand.

I've never come across someone saying VB dosae "tastes" good. I don't understand this "best dosae in Bengaluru" competition. This is like Best husband/wife in the world kind of statements

Same for Idly...SLV (BSK 2nd stage) vs Brahmin's coffee bar invokes heated discussions. Although I prefer the SLV version, I'd happily visit the Brahmin's coffee bar.

Thank you for the information, Hemanth. I agree taste is subjective. Me being from Chennai, found the masala dose and sambar at VB tasty enough

Will try the places mentioned next time I am in Bengaluru!!

Cheers,
Ram

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

I don't understand the reason of making the sambar in Karnataka sweet, it really makes the otherwise tasty idli dosa quite tasteless

Chutney both coconut and onion tomato are very tasty.

Like biriyanis, I think sambar is another dish that can trigger a lot of debate considering the wide variety of preparations for it. Within Karnataka itself, there are so many varieties of preparations- The ones I have had has been with a sweet tinge which i personally do not like. My personal preference is the Kerala-specifically Palakkad style sambar that we make at home. Plenty of ground coconut with the masala and it is something I love. But for a lot of folks it is pretty much untouchable. . Like that as you move across the length of Kerala, the flavor and consistency changes. Similarly in Tamilnadu you have another set of flavors.

Even coconut chutney, I personally do not like anything that has any ingredients other than coconut, green chilli, salt, mustard and curry leaves.

All this basically means that the best dosa, idli, sambar, chutney is the one we make at home. Nothing else really aligns to my taste.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

So true! Wifey loves the sweeter version while I am bonkers about a well made sourer one. Makes for interesting debates while ordering online, as we by now know which restaurant does what.

Haha - it's the opposite for me and my wife. I enjoy the sweeter versions.

Long back after a nice breakfast round at one of the joints in JP Nagar, I had tweeted about how the sweet sambhar of Bangalore restaurants makes it better for idli-sambhar combos. I got royally blown over by a huge number of replies - a minority that agreed with me and the vast majority of replies telling me the TN based sambhars are the best!

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Haha - it's the opposite for me and my wife. I enjoy the sweeter versions...

I like the sweet version too, but I dislike the sucrose induced sweetness. So no jaggery or sugar sweetened sambar for me, it should be the sweetness of dhal and onions. That's why I like the AAB sambar (but not much else there). To each his own, I guess.

[dailydriver]

Back in those bachelor days when Swiggy and Zomato weren't yet born and therefore one had to get food parcelled by himself, but one also had to pinch the pennies, I had tried polishing off my morning idlis with just chutney so that the accompanying sambar could be used with rice in the afternoon.

It took me just 2-3 attempts to realise that the sambar can't go with anything else other than idlis. The slight tinge of sweetness wouldn't suit an afternoon meal.

[v1p3r]

After many moons, I stepped out. Went to Lucky Chan in Indiranagar. It's wretched. The food is average, the boba teas are watery, and the cocktails felt like mildly sweetened dishwater. Their singular advantage is that they have Hoegaarden on tap.

Oh, and there is no sambar except Udupi sambar, and jaggery is key to sambar.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

The famed old eatery from South Bengaluru, Vidhyarthi Bhavan is coming to Malleshwaram. Tentative time frame is May first week. This news has triggered a heated discussion online as there are quite a few famous eateries in that area.

Turns out that it was all part of a well orchestrated drama - pun very much intended!

Vidyarthi Bhavan is indeed coming to Malleshwaram - but you cannot eat there, you can only partake their offering. Before the readers pounce on me, let me present the two news items I came across in Kannada dailies today.

VIJAYAVANI

KANNADAPRABHA

The gist of the clippings being that The Story of Vidyarthi Bhavan will be presented in the form of a play at Chowdiah Memorial Hall in Malleshwaram. Tickets are priced at ₹249/- and can be booked via Bookmyshow.

PS: Aside from the fact that I have given them a couple of thousand rupees of my hard earned money over many visits spanning years, I have no affiliation with, or have commercial interests in, the eatery.

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Turns out that it was all part of a well orchestrated drama - pun very much intended!

Much ado about nothing! I feel foolish now

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Much ado about nothing! I feel foolish now

You shouldn't.

The original rumour mongers must!

That said, the owner does say that he is exploring the possibility of opening up new branches in the future.

Whether this is indeed true, or just another trailer for a dramabaazi in another part of town, is not clear; yet.

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Whether this is indeed true, or just another trailer for a dramabaazi in another part of town, is not clear; yet.

Looks more like a market survey in the garb of a play showcasing their history. Innovative marketing

[mankuthimma]

After all the buzz around Vidyarthi Bhavan coming to an end with todays news, one fallout is that it has rekindled the craving for masala dosas at CTR. Social media influencing can work this way or the other way!

We are planning to do a cross-bangalore trip tomorrow morning just to try out CTR.
Being a weekend and people like us curious to try out CTR, so asking CTR veterans here, any strategic location to safely park the car even if it means walking some distance?
Any other tips to make the best use of CTR ?

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Any other tips to make the best use of CTR ?

Make sure you are there by 7 am latest. Else you will be standing in line for about an hour.

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Any strategic location to safely park the car even if it means walking some distance?

Sampige road is closed for white topping.

I usually search and park somewhere on the inner roads starting from the 4th main onwards (and close to 9th cross) and then walk down towards 8th cross / Margosa / Sampige roads.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

We are planning to do a cross-bangalore trip tomorrow morning just to try out CTR.
... even if it means walking some distance?

Take the Metro to Mantri Square and walk it up. Though I would make sure I could walk back