Udipi Cafe

When I briefly reviewed restaurants for the short-live Pulp in Pittsburgh, I made sure that Udipi Cafe would be the first.

A southern Indian vegetarian restaurant, I was dragged there by a friend who insisted I'd love it. The flavors were so bright and exotic, the preparations so varied and unique, I scarcely missed my mutton and chicken. One small quibble: with no tandoori chicken to prepare, there's no tandoor, or clay oven, to cook it-- hence, no nann. But the other breads, particularly the fat, puffy, deep-fried poori, well make up for its absence.

David coming to grips with the puffy bread

Udipi Cafe is well off the beaten track in Penn Hills, but well worth seeking (Sikhing?) out. Dinner for four will be less than $40. It is BYOB, and a couple of cold, light beers, like Straub, compliment the flavorful, mildly spicy food. Plastic eating utensils. And apparently well-loved by Penn Hill's sizeable Indian community.

We love turning friends on to it.

Keri's happy food face