oldbear

I have enjoyed eating at the Bonbay Mahal on Middle Street in
Lowell, but when I met a friend for lunch last week, we decided
to try a small Indian restaurant with a different Indian cuisine.

The "Udupi Bhavan" restaurant is located at 1717 Middle***
Street. The restaurant's name appears on the free-standing pylon
sign in front of the small shopping center in which it is located.
However, the restaurant itself is not easily visible from the road
because the shopping center building extends back, perpendicular
to the street. (The shopping center is located next door to the
Apsara restaurant.)

While I am not a connoisseur of Indian food, I enjoy higher than
average levels of spice and flavor. The Udupi Bhavan's specialties
deliver both.

I learned that Udupi is a town in Karnataka in southern India and
that Udupi gives its name to a southern Indian regional style of
vegetarian cooking.

Typical southern Indian food is made with rice and lentils, and
sometimes wheat. When mashed and ground together with spices and
herbs and cooked on a giant sized griddle, these ingredients comprise
the basis of dosai, a crepe which may be filled with various
fillings. Other Udupi specialties are Vada, a small donut of the
same rice/lentil ingredients made into dough fried in oil, and Idly,
which is a steamed version of the same dough.

Keep in mind that this is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant. The owner
of the Udupi Bhavan in Ashland (which I believe is connected with
the Udupi Bhavan in Lowell and the Udupi Bhavan in Framingham) was
quoted last April in a Boston Globe article:

"People who come to us have traveled to India and know
this food, or they are adventurous and want to try something
new, or they are orthodox Jews looking for a kosher meal.
They come in when they see we are a vegetarian restaurant
and get introduced to a new cuisine. Then they come back
again."

Udupi Bhavan luncheon specials, consisting of combo platters of
several Udupi items, are priced at a modest $6.00 to $8.00.
Dinner entrees are priced from about $6.00 a la carte to
$12.00 for multi-item dinner.

I expect that the ne.food community may have some additional thoughts
and comments about this cuisine. As this is something new to me,
I look forward to being further educated.

Cheers,
The Old Bear

br4jjd

The one in Framingham just closed in early January..... They were in
the old Ebeneezer's place on the T tracks. They didn't do enough
business to keep the lights on.. I don't know why, but since Ebeneezers
either left or went out of business in that location, nothing has been
able to survive there. This was probably about the fifth place to be
there in the last six or seven years. Makes no sense to me, I would
think it would be a prime location, right at the T station, and in the
heart of downtown Framingham at the intersection of 135 and 126. IMO
it could be a traffic issue, getting through that area is a NIGHTMARE
pretty much any time except late night. And there is alot of crime in
the area, if the they don't rob you on the bill at the resturant,
someone will probably stab you for your wallet in the parking lot, lol.

sha

Old Bear, I am glad that you enjoyed this style of Indian cuisine. My
husband and I frequenty eat at Buhkara in Jamaica Plain. While not
Vegan/Vegetarian, they do serve the Southern Indian dosas as well,
filled with a variety of things from potato and chicken to coconut and
tamarind. They are enormous, and delicious. The "crepe" by itself is a
meal, crispy and light at the same time.
Each time we eat there, I try to get a new dish to experience new
flavors and textures.
This past Saturday night we got take out from Buhkara. The new dish I
tried was an appetizer called Dahi Bahala: lentil dumplings in a yogurt
sauce. I was a bit taken aback when I tried the dish, as it was served
cold. I was expecting a warm dish. I found the dumplings a bit dry, but
the yogurt sauce was delicious, with tang from tamarind in it, and a
bit of heat from 2 nice chilis that were still in the sauce.
My husband tried the Tandoori Duck Masala (he usually gets some type of
lamb dish). The Masala sauce from Bukhara is really delicious, tangy
and creamy at the same time. There were nice big chunks of duck in the
masala sauce, served with rice. I had a rice dish for my meal, Bukhara
Byriani, which was basmati rice w/ veggies and all sorts of things,
chicken, shrimp, beef, paneer (hard cheese), diret fruit etc. It was
nice. To make sure we could sop up every last morsel, we got a naan
(bread) called Pashawary Naan, which is naan stuffed with coconut,
dried fruit and potatoes.Good stuff.