DOSA

Mary:

DOSA

This was a more than pleasant experience, beginning with calling for reservations, which was done through an answering service, and done well—right through dessert and paying gladly for the mixture of cuisine and waiter and atmosphere. I felt very well taken care of.

The food was great. The first edibles on the table were papadoms, and they came just in time. We arrived hungry, and were joking about gnawing on each other’s shoulders but the thin tasty wafer bread, made from garbanzo bean flour and therefore edible by both Jesse and I, kept us from being inappropriate at the table. I ordered Paneer and Pea Dosa…toasted just right like a quesadilla so that the melted cheese and crisp dosa made a great crunchy texture as I bit into it. The taste was a thoughtful blend of flavors. The dipping sauces were good too…several different ones to choose from with differing degrees of heat. The side order of raita, besides being a good treat, helped to cool my mouth when it got heated up by the spices.

Our friend, Barbara, was with us, and she liked the taste of the lamb korma she ordered, but it proved too hot for her. So I traded one of my dosas for half of her korma, and enjoyed the high taste of blended spices (coconut, ginger, garlic and cardamom) in the traditional sauce covering well-cooked lamb cubes, (too often they are overcooked.) Excellent. And good with the raita.

I have spent time in Kovalam Beach in South India, and I am used to and enjoy their particular foods, which differ from the food I eat when I am in Bombay. I thought Dosa did an excellent job of bringing this ‘southern’ cooking to the American table.

Barbara and I were the only ones with any room when we finished our main courses, so I went off my minimal-sugar and carb diet (first time I have been tempted to do so at one of our blog dinners) and split a pot au crème with her. Good, creamy, probably should have done without it

.

The waiter was excellent and worked hard to make our meal memorable. Loved the hanging light

Taj Hotel in Bombay. I've had afternoon teas there.

shades and the way the décor was done: elegant street chic melting into the background. Nice photograph montage of the Taj hotel in Bombay on one wall. For some reason this was the easiest restaurant to hear ourselves talking at our table, even when the restaurant was full. I felt like everything possible was done to make the diners and their dinners the centerpiece; and to send them out the door feeling well taken care of. That’s how I felt when I left.

Dosa in the evening light when we left.

Shirley:

Even the water was good!

I have always had a great meal at Dosas. It is southern Indian food at it's best. Although there are the usual curry, lentils and rice found in an Indian restaurant, there are many unique and delightful additions to the menu.

Any time dinner starts with a bowl of crispy papadam, I am happy. And I was not kidding about the water - it's filtered through coconut husks and was noticeably good. I am usually just fine with tap water, kind of a "water is water" girl, and thoroughly enjoyed the drink.

I ordered the Paneer & Almond Kofta (veggie “meatballs” made of parsnip, squash, potato, mint  with a side of the recommended coconut rice. This was so good that I groaned a bit with every bite. The creamy sauce was plentiful and delicious and the balls  had a velvety, rich texture. It was all great.

My friend Barb tried the Lamb Korma (boneless, dried coconut, ginger, garlic, green cardamom) with lemon rice. The waiter was careful to ask everyone about their heat preferences and the kitchen was very careful to get it right. Still, Barb is an ex-Brit and even the mild heat was a bit too much for her. Too bad for her, really good for Mary and Me. Mary's Paneer & Peas (like an Indian quesadilla) was perfect for Barb, so we swapped some plates around and we were all very happy. And all the little dips that came along with Mary's plate were great.

So, the food was great, the water was great and that is just the beginning. I have never experienced the high level of care and knowledge that was brought to the table, not just from the waiter but from the entire staff. We had some challenges to get everyone exactly what they wanted, but everyone worked together that night to make everyone happy. In fact, they went out of their way to accommodate some tricky obstacles to a great meal.

It is a pleasant environment, the people taking care of you are considerate and smart, and the food is fantastic. Go try it and see if it isn't a great restaurant!


Jesse:

 As person with so many food allergies, I was impressed when the woman we talked to taking our reservation asked if anyone had any food allergies and asked for a list of them. Unfortunately the food allergy information did not reach my waiter so it wasn’t very useful but it turned out that the restaurant did take food allergies seriously. When I informed my waiter of my allergies, I was brought a separate menu that listed all Nut, Dairy and Gluten allergies. It looked very helpful but I found it a little overwhelming trying to order from a graph. Plus I am allergic to all those ingredients plus coconut and coconut is in all their Dosas,  Curries and  Uttapams, which comprise 85% of their menu. Coconut husk is also used to filter their water. I was told the water was delicious but their menu left little for me to eat and left me thinking maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

 It seemed from my chart/menu that only a couple of vegetable dishes were ok for me. Our waiter turned out to be fantastic and really came through. He worked with the chef who made a non-coconut curry from scratch and cooked up a Kuttanadan lobster tail, rice and the Shikampuri Kebab lamb sliders, allergen-free as well. Our waiter’s name was David and we voted him best waiter of Valencia St. He even gave us an education of Southern Indian cuisine and the items on the menu.

      I was able to eat the Papadam. Yum. Delicious on the first bite and then a couple of seconds later comes another wave of great tastes.

My lobster, curry and rice dish was really good. Really, really good. I haven’t been able to relax around a curry for a long time and here, I am 100% sure I can eat it without problems, which meant a lot to me. The lamb sliders were two small disks of lamb and herbs that were screaming spicy hot. It came with a delicious sauce of red peppers and garlic, also very, hot. I had forgotten to ask for the spice/hot level to be adjusted. The sliders were overcooked but everything else was delicious.

We ordered a second bowl of Papadam to sop up all our leftover delightful sauces leaving nothing on our plates.

      

After dinner I made it a point to thank the chef who made sure I was able to enjoy my food without any health issues.

Well, on to my least favorite section of my review but nonetheless important to many. The bathrooms. There are two here and one has a diaper changing table. Yay! An important and helpful item. They also had kleenex dispensers which came in very handy. After eating the hot, spicy food, my sinuses were cleared out and watering. I do have to say that I was very surprised to find one bathroom dirty. The floor needed mopping and there was toilet paper strewn about. And this was at the beginning of the evening which does not bode well. They were modern, a bit boring but managed to have a bit of warmth.  I give the bathrooms a 2.5 out of 5 stars. 

   

Overall, tonight, my friends and I were excited when our food arrived and continued being excited and happy while eating. These are the best of dinners out with friends. A good restaurant with it's great food and lively, warm ambiance is like live theater, heartwarming and sensorially stimulating. Fulfilling in many ways.  

I give Dosa  4 out of 5 stars and happily recommend it.