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Tirupati Dosa Bhavan
Franklin Park, New Jersey
(Scroll down to read the review)
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Tirupati Dosa Bhavan
Reviewer's Summary: Tasteless Food; Bad Service
Address & Telephone No:
Tirupati Dosa Bhavan
3201 Route 27
(Next to Hot Breads)
Franklin Park, NJ 08823
Ph: 732-940-1005
Hours:
Tuesday - Friday
11:30 AM - 03:30 PM
05:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday
11:30 AM - 10:00 PM
Monday Closed
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The Good News - South Indian restaurants are increasingly springing up in New Jersey providing a welcome alternative to Indian food lovers looking beyond the confines of North Indian cuisine.
The Bad News - with a few exceptions like Tanjore, Ganesh Dosa House and Swagath most South Indian restaurants in New Jersey serve tasteless food.
Located in a small strip mall on Route 27 in Franklin Park (New Jersey), Tirupati Dosa Bhavan is a recent addition to the South Indian restaurant scene in New Jersey. With huge mirrors on two walls, Tirupati Dosa Bhavan is a no frills vegetarian restaurant that can seat about 65 people.
Unfortunately for Indian food aficionados in New Jersey, Tirupati Dosa Bhavan dishes out some of the worst South Indian cuisine in the Garden State. The restaurant's fantasies about creating the "New Dining Sensation in Franklin Park" cannot mask the reality of a mediocre kitchen that fails to deliver even palatable food, let alone authentic South Indian food.
During our recent visit to Tirupati Dosa Bhavan, we let our taste buds roam hither and thither on the vast terrain of South Indian cuisine.
Idli, Vada, Butter Masala Dosa, Bisi Bele Bath, Chapati, Rasam, Sambar, Coconut Chutney, Tomato Chutney, Kara Kozhumbu, Lime Pickles, Bhindi Fry and Curd Rice. We sampled them all and more, but derived little satisfaction.
Our first grouse was that almost all of the items landed on our table cold or just tepid. When the kitchen is but a few feet away from the dining hall and the restaurant is not even crowded, why does the food come tepid or cold to the table? It suggests lack of coordination between the kitchen and wait staff with customers ultimately paying the price for such confusion.
Then there is the bigger problem of Tirupati Dosa Bhavan - the tasteless food coming out of its kitchen.
Sambar and the two Chutneys were too bland to serve as proper accompaniments to the lukewarm Idli and Vada (partially cooked inside). Besides being tasteless, the radish Sambar was also anorexic, lacking in enough Dal.
Butter Masala Dosa ($5.49) was another assault on the tastebuds. It lacked the promised flavor of butter and the potato/onion filling inside was hopelessly bland and tepid. The Millagapodi (South Indian spicy powder mixed with oil) that comes with the Dosa is sure to disappoint South Indians used to a more fiery taste.
To avoid disappointing diners, a more apt name for Tirupati Dosa Bhavan's Millagapodi should be spice-less powder.
Rasam was much too sour without the right mix of spices.
Curd rice was devoid of any semblance of taste while the Bhindi Fry and Tomato Dal did not rise above the ordinary.
Bisi Bele Bath (rice cooked with lentils, garden vegetables and spices) was the single standout dish in our lunch disaster. Cooked well and with the right amount of spices, it was flawless.
In addition to Butter Masala Dosa, Tirupati Dosa Bhavan serves a variety of other Dosas including Onion Masala Dosa, Paper Masala Dosa, Onion Rava Masala Dosa and Spinach and Cheese Dosa.
Tirupati Dosa Bhavan is an equal opportunity offender when it comes to serving tasteless South Indian food - whether it's Soup, Appetizer, Dosa, Beverages or Desserts, they all get the same bad treatment.
Our first dessert Gajjar Halwa was a ugly mass of partially cooked grated carrot mixed with a little sugar. To describe this "orange horror" as a dessert would be a gross injustice.
Desperately seeking relief from this orange horror, we opted for a second dessert - Badam Halwa. But the merciless Tirupati Dosa Bhavan folks socked it to us again with our order of Badam Halwa.
Badam Halwa (ground almonds cooked in milk and sugar and flavored with saffron) was a travesty lacking even the sweetness that constitutes the essence of a dessert.
After repeated subjection to bad Badam Halwa lately, we are now convinced that Indian restaurants in the U.S. have forgotten (if they ever knew it in the first place) the fine art of making Badam Halwa.
Coming from South India, it's safe to say that we love our Coffee and know our Coffee. The Coffee we were served at Tirupati Bhavan was a disgrace and worse than a New Jersey Turnpike Rest Area Coffee. To claim to be a South Indian restaurant and not know how to make a decent cup of Coffee must surely count as the highest disgrace in the restaurant world.
After a meal characterized by the total ineptitude of the kitchen, we wonder whether Tirupati Dosa Bhavan even has a chef.
One thing we forgot during our visit was to offer condolences to our main waiter Satish. The fellow wore such a lugubrious expression on his face throughout our meal that we were sure he'd suffered some personal calamity or was grieving for someone (perhaps for the hapless diners unlucky enough to dine at Tirupati Dosa Bhavan).
Service is practically non-existent in Tirupati Dosa Bhavan. Once they take your order, the waiters disappear inside. During our visit, there were two waiters in the dining hall - one wearing a mournful expression and the other sporting a glum face.
Despite the restaurant not being crowded, the finished plates were not promptly removed, the tables not wiped clean after the meal, the water glasses not refilled. We could go on and on but we won't. What's the point?
If you are looking for genuine South Indian cuisine in New Jersey, Tirupati Dosa Bhavan is not the restaurant you'd want to visit. Head for Tanjore, Swagath or Ganesh Dosa House instead. - RR
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