“Wait,” you say, “brunch at an Indian place?”

That was my first thought, as well, when Suzanne suggested brunch at Dosa. Her main motivation was one of their dishes (Pani Puri) that is only available at dinner on Mondays and at weekend brunch. She’d had this when she previously ate at Dosa and was eager to repeat the experience. She talked it up so much that I just had to try it for myself. And so we found ourselves there for brunch one recent Sunday.

Being brunch, we started out with a cocktail. Suzanne loves mimosas and Dosa has both orange and mango. As orange is run of the mill, she went with the mango: (Poema Cava Brut sparkling wine & fresh juice). I had a Sinful Crush (Lillet with a splash of lime & freshly crushed mint & ginger) which was very minty. Yummy.

We decided to make a meal of snacky finger food. We started with Dahi Vada (Lentil dumplings, topped with cool Strauss organic yogurt, piped with tamarind & mint, mildly spiced). Tasty and very pretty.

Then it was time for the Pani Puri (Small hollow, crispy breads to be filled with spicy-sour mint & tamarind water, chickpeas, mung & potato). This was everything Suzanne said it was. Break a hole in one, fill it with beans or potatoes, add sauces then pop it in your mouth and prepare for a flavor explosion. We almost forgot to take a picture. Here’s one ready to be consumed.

The final dish was an assortment of Uttapam, served with fresh coconut & tomato chutneys and sambar. Uttapam are like a slightly thicker, pancake-style variation of the Dosa, topped all manner of savory things.

So, Indian food for brunch. You bet. It was different, but it was good. I do love good Indian food, and Dosa did not disappoint.

Suzanne and I went out for dinner tonight. We’d heard people say that Aslam’s Rasoi.

When we peeked in we saw that it was busy but not full. Good sign. So we went in. We were shown to a cozy corner table … so cozy that we were almost blocked in by the surrounding tables later on. There was a feeling of trying to pack a few too many diners into the dining room.

The menu was reasonable, both in terms of variety and price, with the usual selection of North Indian dishes.

We got started with drinks and Assorted Pakoras (Vegetable Pakoras, Gobi Pakoras and Began Pakoras). The pakoras were nicely done. Whether it was Aslam’s practice, or specifically as we were there as a couple, I don’t know, but the selection of pakora were paired, two of each type. A nice touch in my opinion.

For the meal we ordered Lamb Vindaloo (Lamb curry cooked with potatoes and herbs in a hot curry sauce), Bengan Bartha (Freshly roasted eggplant sauteed with chopped onion, garlic, ginger, and spices), Chana Masala (Garbanzo beans cooked with onions, fresh tomatoes, and spices North Indian style, Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower and potatoes cooked with a hint of garlic and spices), rice, and Naan.

Serving sizes were good, providing a sumptuous meal and leftovers for another.

I’m not the world’s greatest lamb fan (yet) but I enjoyed the vindaloo. Tender and tasty with a nice level of heat. The bartha was ok … a little bland maybe. I would have liked it a bit more of a smoky flavor. The chana was very nice; good flavor and quite spicy. The aloo gobi was as expected, not exceptional, but certainly not a disappointment. The naan was quite nice, soft, with a touch of char.

Our waitress left a little to be desired, seeming to be somewhat ill at ease. Also, I didn’t think we were getting quite as much attention as we should have.

This is part 1 of a post… since I neglected to take pics today at lunch.

The Chaat Cafe is a regular lunch spot for the crew at Engine Yard, especially for @stesla and I. Generous portions of really good, North Indian food that’s reasonably priced. It’s a nice place, with bright colors abounding. Staff is always friendly. It’s very spare dining. You come in, order and pay. You get a number card to place at your table and food eventually shows up. Grab water, napkins and silverware on your way to a table. No seating… take what you can get. We’ve been aiming to have lunch about 11:30 so there are always seats.

Two of my favourites are the Paneer Vindaloo and Saag Paneer. @stesla is a man of habit and lately that habit has taken the form of Malai Kofta: Vegetarian dumplings made with a mixture of potatoes, carrots, paneer, and other vegetables, simmered in our tikka masala sauce. It’s looked and smelled so good the times he’s gotten it in the past that I had to try it today. And evidently tomorrow so I can get some pics.

So today I, did indeed, get the Malai Kofta. It was as good as anticipated. This really was no surprise as I’ve yet to be dissappointed by the food here. I’ll aim to have a more detailed review tomorrow, but if you ar ein the mood for some fine North Indian food and are in SOMA, head over to Chaat Cafe at 3rd & Folsom.

I ended up grabbing lunch today with my buddy @stesla, to chat over some personal stuff as well as to brainstorm some ideas for work.

He’d been talking up Udupi Palace, as have some other friends, so he suggested we go there.  I’ve been in The Mission helping out a friend this week, and was having coffee at Philz at the time, so it was nearby.

We were hungry and the food was compelling and it wasn’t until I was half way through that I though “Oh… I should have taken pics for a blog post”.  So no pictures… but I need a post and the place rocked.

From what I’ve been told, Udupi Palace is known for it’s dosa, but the menu was nicely varied, but not uncomfortably long.  We started with madras coffee, followed by samosas that were just perfect.

As I was looking through the menu for the main event, I commented on the curries (for example: Channa Batura!) and @stesla said “Dude, you can get curry anywhere… get a Dosa!”. And so I did, specifically: “Udupi special spring dosa (Mysore Masala Dosa stuffed with fresh vegetables)”. @stesla got the same, as it was his usual, he really likes it, and he’s a creature of culinary habit .

(ok.. so I ended up grabbing some pics off Udupi’s site so that this post won’t be completely lame. Our dosas weren’t served on banana leaves.)

They even have dosa serving dishes (I really should have taken a pic) with hollows for 4 different sauces. I point this out since @stesla’s serving dish had those 4 hollows filled with sauces. Mine however only had 1 hollow filled. WTF?! This was the one black mark on the meal. Thankfully he had more than enough of the sauces and promptly invited me to help myself to those on his plate.

Overall, lunch rocked. The food was excellent, and the service attentive.

Tuesday @stesla and I visited Google headquarters where he was giving a tech talk on a framework he wrote in/for  Google’s new Go programming language.  The talk went smashingly well and is already available on YouTube, see it if you’re interested in BDD or Go.

After the talk (and why I’m bothering to write it here) we had lunch in Google’s main dining hall.  A few things have changed in the six months or so since I’ve been there. Notably big displays showing the day’s menu, and no more Italian section. After surveying the menu we decided that the Indian station looked good.  Lines were insane.  It was far busier than I recall it being. But then, when I worked there I would try to time my meals at non-peak times.  I’m not sure what the lunch hours are now, but the last time they shortened then there was a noticeable increase in congestion and line lengths.

In the end, the lines & wait were worth it.  Paneer Tika Masala was one of my favorites when I worked there, and it did not disappoint.  A great bryriani and sambar as well. Also it was nice to see some of the food services folks I knew from the old days.

It’s always fun to visit for lunch and catch up with old friends.  Have to do that more often.