Sri Ganesh's Dosa House
Reviewer's Summary: Overall Good Food; Excellent Coffee; Bad Dessert
Address & Telephone No:
Sri Ganesh's Dosa House
809 Newark Ave
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Ph: 201-222-3883
Hours:
Open 7 Days 10:30 AM-10.00 PM
Credit cards not accepted
Nirvana is Madras Coffee at Sri Ganesh's Dosa House. We swear to God it's that good.
Hailing from South India, we've drunk Coffee almost everyday of our lives but rarely such fine Madras Coffee.
But Sri Ganesh's Dosa House is not just a one-trick pony - It's a self-service restaurant with many aces besides the fine Coffee.
This is a no frills restaurant - You go to the counter, pick up a menu card and order right there as you pay for the food (it can take 10-15 minutes for the food to be ready depending on how busy the kitchen is).
In a long life spent eating out a lot, we've observed that there are restaurants that make Dosas and then there are restaurants that make Real, Tasty Dosas.
Sri Ganesh's Dosa House on Newark Ave in Jersey City belongs to the latter category of restaurants that make Fine, Tasty Dosas.
No surprise then that this small self-service place was crowded even on a cold Monday evening at 8.00PM.
Although this restaurant offers 88 different varieties of Dosas and Uttapams (yes, we really mean 88 varieties!), we opted for our favorite Masala Dosa.
Our Dosa order took about 15 minutes to be ready but the end result was worth it. The Masala Dosa was crisp and tasty and came with hot Sambhar, Coconut Chutney and Tomato Chutney.
Usually Coconut Chutney in Indian restaurants is bland and cold (cold because it is usually prepared earlier and refrigerated). To our pleasant surprise, the Coconut Chutney was spicy and tasted fresh. The Tomato Chutney was good too, a tad spicier than the Coconut Chutney.
The delicious Poori Koorma reminded us of the several occasions we've had this dish in the many nooks of Tamil Nadu (a state in South India). It came with four large Pooris, shredded onions, Koorma, Green Chutney and fiery Avakkai Pickle.
We were delighted with the Idli-Vada combo too. Idlis were soft and the Vada was crispy and tasty. Besides two Idlis and one Medhu Vada, it included Coconut Chutney, Tomato Chutney and Sambhar.
Sambhar at Sri Ganesh's Dosa House is kept in a huge vessel and you can have as much of that delicious thing as you want.
After Idli, Vada, Masala Dosa and Poori, we were in the Seventh Heaven and mighty pleased with ourselves for having discovered this gem of a restaurant.
Alas, in life nothing and nobody in the world is perfect (not even Aishwarya Rai - after all, the glowingly beautiful Ms.Rai can hardly act).
So, amidst all the standout dishes at Sri Ganesh's Dosa House we encountered disaster in Rava Sheera. It was the sole jarring note at Sri Ganesh's Dosa House. It was awful - not enough sugar and half-cooked. We also suspect that the Rava used in the Sheera may have become stale. After tasting a couple of spoons, we tossed the rest into the trash where it belonged.
We've usually been disappointed with Tea in South Indian restaurants. But Sri Ganesh's Dosa House is an exception - Its Tea was real tasty and left no room for complaint.
Besides Pongal, Pulihora, Lemon Rice, Vegetable Biryani, Idli, Vada, Upma and Curd rice, Sri Ganesh's Dosa House serves 68 types of Dosas and 20 types of Uttappam (a kind of Dosa).
In addition to the Masala Dosa, Sri Ganesh's Dosa House's menu includes Onion Chilli Masala Dosa, Pondicherry Masala Dosa, Palak Paneer Dosa, Paper Butter Mysore Masala Dosa, Channa Ghee Masala Dosa, Pesarattu, Rava Onion Dosa, Chilli Uttapam, Tomato Uttapam, Set Dosa etc.
Dosa House also offers a South Indian Vegetarian Thali for $8.00 but we didn't try it.
After our hearty meal at Sri Ganesh's Dosa House, we made our 2007 New Year Resolution in November itself - Go as often as possible to this awesome vegetarian restaurant. - © Rekha Inc.
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