From what I've seen inside city limits, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) located on Venkatnarayana road, is a great exhibition of Dravidian architecture. Right after the Murugan Temple at Vadapalani, (sorry if i haven't mentioned other temples, I've only seen these 2 to be real striking) Characteristic of dravidian architecture, there's a huge gopuram at the entrance, and as you enter, there's the vimana for the deity and the mandap to chill and soak in divinity. It doesn't get more south Indian than this. But a step outside and a right turn, is the shortest way to reach Punjab. No da, not mub la olarring.
There's nothing that can take you to another place, however far it is, like food can. Ergo, this Dhaba, is a one way ticket to Amritsar. Amritsar, not chandigarh , because the place is vegetarian. If only they served tandoori chicken. If only they made butter chicken masala. If only I had Deepika Padukone's phone number. Lol. Got carried away there with wishful thinking. 😄
Living a stone's throw away from this place, I have been eating here for almost a decade. So, it's safe to say that the review will (hopefully) be all encompassing.
The Dhaba has recently gotten a facelift. And I'm so glad. The metal chairs with rapidly thinning seat cushions were getting a tad annoying to sit on, and it was only the food that kept our mind off things. but this time, they've put in sofas, which are more comfortable and welcoming. The seat cushions, to my liking, were considerably firm, hence I wasn't eating from a hole in the ground, and was seated comfortably. The place has also got a fresh coat of paint, with the old dirty blue color replaced by a nice bright yellow. Gone are the photographs of the proprietor with the celebs though. There was one with him and Shahrukh Khan! I used to look at it every time I visited the place. Bring them back!
The food! When you go to a place that calls itself a dhaba, it's best you stick to breads and gravies. Because that's what dhaba's do best. These folks are no exception. While they do serve their pulavs and jeera rice, it's generally money that could have been spent ordering something else. Almost a decade of eating here, and it's only twice, when I have ordered rice. Once, when mom wanted to have veg pulav as she didn't feel like eating rotis, and another time when jeera rice came as part of a thaali. Didn't take to it either time.
As part of a mini thali, they offer some white rice and dal, with a vegetable. That rice though, is pretty good, cause it just screams of "ghar ka khana" and tastes like some punjabi grandmother made it. Typical comfort food.
They serve a lot of indian gravies to go with the breads. And from the many times i've been here, the things i've tried are the Kadai paneer, the Paneer butter masala, Kaju curry, Kaju paneer, and the mutter paneer. Somehow the heart never warms up to order shahi paneer because it's a sweet dish. Hopefully should give it a try soon. All their gravies are excellent, with decent quantity. Without being unnecessarily decadent, 8 rotis are enough to wipe clean, one bowl of gravy. The naans and the rotis are exceptional. I absolutely love their rotis, as it has this amazing taste. Very earthen, typical tandoori roti. My mother always says that you could eat just their rotis, no need for a side. She's even done it a few times, channelling her inner marwari :P, and having some roti with only the pickle, kept as part of condiments on each table. Their stuffed naans, particularly the aloo and paneer stufffed naans have been a perennial hit amongst my family. The paneer tikka starter is also one that we've bought many times. It's cooked well and has a great marinade, but i just wish they'd burn it a little more. More smoky flavor, but the chef's here have consistently, cooked the dish, just enough so there isn't much of a tandoori smoky crust. Some people love that it isn't burnt, but for me personally, I like a little more char on the tikka!
The service has always been prompt. No problems here. There's always some one there to help.
Also the ghee these people put in their dish. Tastes great and there's always so much. I remember during a visit here once, looking at the ghee on a plain and a butter naan kept side by side, one of my friends commented "macha, for eating that much ghee, you should probably do 50 burpees". Yep. If you ask me, after a meal here, about 500 burpees would be enough to melt away the fat and the guilt.
One problem that i've found with the place, is the quality of their paneer on weekdays. I'm guessing they're trying to just float on the tide, to reach the weekend, but because of this, many times the paneer used in gravies at weekday dinner services are characteristically hard and unappealing. I found a workaround by avoiding paneer dishes during the weekdays, but anyone visiting for the first time on a weekday wouldn't get a great impression. Something the management must look into.
Also they have no designated parking space. 2 wheelers can find space anywhere, but you're on your own if you come by car.
Their desserts for us, start and end with the sweet named after the former Chief Minister of Bihar and his wife! Yes, they have a dish called Rabri and Lallo. :D It's rasamalai/rasagulla, floating on copious amounts of flavored condensed milk. Tastes consistently great, for as long as i can remember.
Any restaurant surviving for more than a decade, by itself deserves immense respect. Producing consistently great food on weekends 😝, for the last 10 years, is also highly commendable. Definitely a place to visit after some deiva dharisanam nearby. Just remember to go on weekends. Or if you're there on weekdays, may the odds ever be in your favor!
Cheers : )
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