Living in south Bengaluru has its advantages. This side of town has a lot of joints which dish out the traditional south indian staples like idly, vada, dosa and the like. There are joints which have been in existence for a long time like MTR, Vidhyarthi Bhavan, Brahmins Coffee Bar etc which continue to serve the general public with not much changes in the menu and have their loyalists who swear by their food.
Then followed the Darshini trend in the 1990s which provided the affordability and proved to be a game changer. New darshinis mushroomed all over Bengaluru making it the buzz word. Affordability was something which made it an instant hit. I recollect that the coffee would cost only Re.1 coupled with the fact that the food would be served fresh and hot making it like an indian fast food joints. The only flip side was that there was no seating and it was self service. People did not mind as it saved time and money. The menu had a lot of choices which varied from idly & dosas to gobi Manchurian to roti curry. All these were at affordable prices. Those were the good times and slowly the fever died down and so did the number of darshinis.
Recently I noticed that there is a new generation of restaurants which have come up which not only focus on hygiene (not that the others don't) but also on affordability. The trend seems to be catching up and South Bengaluru is currently witnessing this. The idly vada and dosas are priced very reasonably and this is their USP . This is kind of rekindling the Darshini Fever of the early 1990s
To name a few, The South Kitchen, Taaza Thindi, Iyengars Kitchen, By Two Coffee etc., are actually now changing the game with affordability and quality.
To prove me right, these places are generally crowded even in the morning. Taaza Thindi is no different which has a separate queue for Masala Dosa. The primary factor apart from the quality would be the cost which is Rs.20 which otherwise would be at least Rs.30 in other restaurants if not more. The dosa per say is quite good with a generous dose of ghee/ butter though the size could be a bit smaller than the traditional ones. Generally in these restaurants the average price would not be not more than Rs.15 which makes the masala dosa the costliest item on the menu here.
Another similarity is that, the kitchen follows the "open kitchen" concept and has display boards on the cleaning methodology which is a feel good factor for customers. Taaza Thinidi also has a note on the dishwasher they use. Impressive. Not to be left behind South Kitchen has some cartoons of traditional vessels with some facts written on the wall providing the connect with tradition as well as provide local touch.
Can all this be too good to be true. No there has to be a catch. Yes, the catch is that these restaurants have limited menu options for the customer. This can work to their advantages as they can focus on their strengths as well as turnaround faster and costs controlled. A good breakfast would not be more than 30 minutes even if you factor in the crowd. Yes, it can be a bit cramped though which is a small price to pay.
This trend seems to be catching up and it is really nice to know that while we do have a lot of restaurants which charge us for the ambience, there are restaurants which provide us with affordable options making it an instant hit with the old and the young alike. Weekends or weekdays you would find people who would have just finished their quota of morning walk having a quick bite or the young college crowd binging on some idly/dosas. Not to mention people gossiping over a cup of strong south indian coffee. Yes, over the weekend these places can turn out to be a family outing for breakfast.
Now who would want to complain. The customer seems to be getting choices on eating south indian food at affordable prices which keeps him smiling which in turn means benefits of economies of scale for the owner. Seems like it is the best of both worlds. Enjoy till good times last
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