I am from Bangalore and my place is symbolic to the crispy masala dosas and filter coffee. But today the age old masala dosa hotels are replaced by the fancy looking fast food joints and the age old coffee bars by the likes of Cafe Coffee Days and the Barista. ‘Ondu cup coffee kodi’ is now replaced by ‘ Can I have a cappuccino please’ The advent of globalization is inevitable. But what surprises me is its advances to food. The conventional idly-sambhar are not considered a ‘cool’ tagged breakfast. The new breakfast favorites being the french toasts and the bread and jams.
Here is a compilation of the old charms of Bangalore
My dad always says his early morning walk on Sunday in the lalbagh would always end with the masala dosas from ‘ Vidyarthi Bhavan’ over a cup of coffee over the table surrounded by his group of friends. He says the beauty of a Sunday morning is the blusterous sound from the orders and the laughter that echoes from the table. He remembers how he is always greeted with the friendly smile of the waiter and how his masala dosa would get that extra bit of butter. He mocks at the younger generations who hardly have an early Sunday nor enjoy the little pleasures of a chaotic hotels
The Iyengar bakery in Bangalore is one of the oldest bakery and is known for its baking expertise. The Potato Bun and the Vegetable Puffs are popular. But the younger generation finds them not-so-hot for their style. All they need is an air conditioned room, fancy looking tables and menu that screams calories.
To walk your date in to a Cafe Coffee Day and bond over a cup of coffee is a trend and god knows who set that trend. Would you consider taking her to Mtr? Well No. That is so not cool. Maybe just maybe you forgot MTR is a prominent place and your chances for being liked over the food would be high.
If I asked you to treat your friends for your birthday at CTR in Malleshwaram you would probably laugh at me. You don’t probably know the fun of jolting your way through the crowd to get a table and the feeling of triumph when you find one. You probably don’t even know the taste of the butter masala dosa with extra chuttney and those spongy Mangalore bajjis.
Being a South Bangalorean comes an array of advantages. One among them is the accessibility to Brahmin’s Coffee Bar. The authentic Idly and Vadas are accompanied by the mouth watering coconut chutney and the place is known for it’s filter coffee. Filled with college students and the people from the early morning walk this place has a menu of just 4 items and serves them at their best. If you are a North Bangalorean you don’t have to crib as you have your very own Veena Stores which serve the same.
Searching for a Vegetarian restaurant serving authentic staples of the state? Malleshwaram’s Halli Mane is all that you have to visit. They serve community foods and have the chefs out do themselves on festivals. A must try for all the people wanting to try the local food.
The dosas and Idlis have left you craving for meat. Then go try the Military Hotel in Jayanagar. It is a small restaurant with impeccable food and people usually take away the meat and other specialties. So the next time you want your meat right you know where to go.
Ramakrishna lunch home is a huge marble tiled room located in Majestic in the hustle bustle of the city. The dosas here are worth a try and so are the Chirrotis dipped in milk ( Karnataka sweet snack)
The Rogue Elephant Cafe may not dish out the traditional Bangalore menu but it is true to the charm Bangalore is known for. The place houses jack fruit trees and mango tress and has the charm of old Bangalore. This place looks like it fought rehabilitation in terms of its ambiance.
Last but not the least there is the ‘ Eat Street’ known as ‘Thindi Beedi ” in Kannada . Located in VV Puram it runs for a stretch of 350m. It starts with the famous VB Bakery which are known for its Congress Bun (Bun filled with spices , butter and snacks) and rose honey cake. Come here on the onset of dawn you will find this place brimming with crowd. From the milk dipped chirrotis to the famous holige ( sweet snacks) are served. It also serves variety of idly , dosas and vadas. It serves the traditional snacks such as Kolbade and bhajji. It also serves your favourite akki and ragi roti. Now it has incorporated indo-chineese snacks and the north indian snacks. The gulkand fruit salad with ice cream is a favorite. The activity at this street is infectious and draws a non-foodie in to its web.
