Udipi? Ring a bell? Yes, it is the name of the chain of little restaurants that are giving a 'licking' to mammoth competitors selling pizzas, burgers and all manner of 'western' fast food. Udipi restaurants have the enviable reputation of drawing the maximum crowds to their doorsteps every day. These small joints have even been conferred the honorary title, "Mumbai's lifeline"!

These Udipi restaurants are not located in "posh" areas. But they are centrally situated- near stations, bus depots, market places- where crowd movement is generally the highest. These restaurants have one primary goal in mind and that is to feed the hungry souls that come in. More importantly, the goal is to satiate hungry stomachs at minimal cost to the wallet. And so you have a plate of idlis served at Rs. 8 to Rs. 10, a sada dosa for Rs. 12 to Rs. 15 and a masala dosa at Rs. 15 to Rs 18.

Udipi restaurants place a premium on cleanliness. It is not enough if the food served is clean, but the place where you sit and eat is also spotlessly maintained. There is also an emphasis on building a community of workers. Udipi restaurants therefore work around the dictum that the people who work in the organisation must be happy. All the workers are provided permanent jobs and a house to shelter them. Small boys from poor families are given food and shelter as integral parts of the terms of employment.

The owners of these Udipi restaurants are people from Kannadiga families from the West Coast of India. Traditional recipes are passed on by word of mouth through generations. This probably goes a long way in explaining the 'ghar ka khana' taste that accompanies Udipi dishes.

Efficient service, the taste of home away from home, reasonable prices; you bet there's an Udipi restaurant somewhere in the vicinity. Made in India, for Indians, by Indians!! This is a pillar of Indian eating life!

Post Comment

Name : Email : Password : Comments :