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 Udipi Cafe Reviewer's Summary: Awesome Food; Bad Mysore Coffee & Masala Tea; Rude Bozos Address & Telephone No: Udipi Cafe 4141 Old William Penn Hwy Monroeville, PA 15146 Ph: 412-373-5581 Hours: 11:30 AM - 9:30 PM Closed Tuesdays It's not hard to understand why this Indian vegetarian restaurant is popular. The food is awesome at Udipi restaurant in Pittsburgh, located close to the famous Venkateswara Temple. We tried a variety of items and came up tops most of the time. Located on Old William Penn Hwy in Monroeville, Udipi is a no frills vegetarian restaurant. This place does not even provide steel spoons and knives to diners. Plastic spoons, forks and knives along with napkins and a pitcher of water are left on the table. And you help yourself. If you are a fussy person, Udipi is not right for you cause the restaurant while high on taste is low on service. Rasam was so good that besides sipping it with our plastic spoons, we also mixed it in rice and ate it. Either way, it's terrific. Avial came with a small bowl of plain rice, lime pickle and raita. A speciality dish from Kerala made with green banana, carrot, drumstick, elephant yam and cooked in yogurt and coconut sauce, Avial was so tasty that we count it among the best Avials we've had. Memories of Udipi's Avial linger long after the plate is dry. Idli was soft and tasty but to our surprise not warm. The accompanying Sambar was piping hot and tasty and the fresh Coconut Chutney made up for the cold Idli. Chutney was spicy and a treat for the taste buds. It's a pity that few South Indian restaurants in the U.S. take the trouble to serve fresh Chutney anymore. It usually comes out of the fridge and invariably tastes yucky. Poori (whole wheat bread, deep fried and fluffy) was good but the whole Okra Curry was nothing to write home about. Although our favorite dish at Udipi was the Avial, the Tomato Rice comes a close second. It was just delicious and spiced just right. All is not perfect though at Udipi. Our order of Onion Chili Utappam was a little low on Chilies. Utappam came with tasty Chutney and Sambar. Surprisingly, Udipi slips and slips badly in the beverage department. Both Mysore Coffee and Masala Tea were below par. Coffee had too much milk and too little Coffee decoction. Masala Tea had so little flavor that we wondered if any spices had indeed been added to the Tea at all to justify its name. Udipi's Payasam was also a wee bit low on Vermicelli, milk and sugar. Overall, we had little to complain about the food at Udipi. But the waiters at Udipi do need a crash course in basic manners. We found the bozos insufferably rude. When we asked for an itemized copy of the bill, our waiter turned hostile and glared at us before refusing our reasonable request outright. Although Udipi Cafe's menu tilts towards South Indian cuisine, the restaurant serves North Indian curries such as Aloo Palak, Bhindi Masala, Malai Kofta and Palak Paneer. Udipi does brisk business during the lunch hour with a steady stream of both Indians and Americans walking in to savor the delights of this small restaurant. - RR |
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