new favorite indian food = udupi!. first off, i'm not a vegetarian, but given the wide array of delicious non-meaty alternatives, i rarely order indian food with meat. so as an all-veggy indian joint, i just had to try udupi, despite it being a little out of the way for me (delhi palace is my usual place). i'm glad i finally made it! i dined alone on a sunday evening, and the place was pretty quiet, with just a few other diners. i ordered the palak paneer; a spinach dish with big chunks of a firm cottage cheese (the paneer). normally, i order this very spicy, but when i asked for the dish to be very spicy, the waiter looked at me kind of funny and said that palak paneer isn't supposed to be spicy. news to me! i guess the other places have been making it wrong! i also ordered mango lasse. when my food was delivered, it came in large proportions, along with rice and two sauce dishes. one was a sour yogurt and carrot thing (didn't catch the name) which i normally don't like, but theirs was outstanding! the second was a tomato, lemon, chili and horseradish sauce (again, didn't get the name). this was amazing! rather spicy, and really complemented the main course. which, by the way, was the best palak paneer i've ever had! it had some spice, or combination of spices, which were unknown to my palette despite having ordered that dish at dozens of different indian restaurants. maybe this was a udupi secret recipe, or perhaps the delicate mixture of spices had always been overwhelmed by the spiciness that i normally ask to be applied. in any case, it was so good that i was tempted to finish it, but i brought half home as leftovers.
service was a bit unattentive, especially considering that the place was practically empty, but this is far outweighed by how amazing the food was. i will be back with friends, hopefully sooner rather than later! bravo udupi!