Name: Chaat Cafe
Address: 320 3rd St, San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: (415) 979-9946

1. What kind of meal did you have?

A. Tiffin, well a “just because we wanted a bite to eat”.

2. What kind of food is it?
A. Chaat and North Indian.

3. What did you eat and drink?
Bhel poori and pani poori.

4. How is the ambience, decor and service?
A. nothing special, but lots of seatings, some torn seats.

5. What can you get to drink?
The usual desi spread, not sure if they serve beer.

6. What other dishes would you recommend?
A. Paneer bhajia.

7. Is vegetarian friendly?
A. Very

8. Cost?
A. Reasonable about $5 a dish, atleast for chaat.

9. Eat there again yourself?
A. Not unless I am in the city and craving bad chaat.

10. Would you recommend to friends?
A. See the answer to the previous question.

Other comments (if any):

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Jhapat Restaurant Review: Chaat Cafe, San Francisco - Über Desi

Name: Amber Cafe
Address: 600 W El Camino Real
Phone: 650 968 1751

1. What kind of meal?
Early Dinner ( Cafe is open for lunch too)

2. What kind of food is it?
Chaat, Combo meals, mostly good old Indian fast food

3. What did you eat and drink?
Between the 3 of us: The Achari Paneer Wrap, The lamb wrap , the chicken wrap .All wraps served with a really great salad.

4. How is the ambience, decor and service?
Standard Fast food joint /cafe. Self service.

5. What can you get to drink?
Soft drinks,lassi, chai,coffee,smoothies

6. What other dishes would you recommend? Any other selling point - music/dance?
The Achari Paneer wrap.The samose chhole.

7. Is vegetarian friendly?
Yes

8. Cost?
Very Reasonable.

9. Eat there again yourself?
Absolutely.Also great for takeout

10. Would you recommend to friends?
Absolutely.

Other comments (if any):

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Jhatpat Restaurant Reviews: Amber Cafe, Mountain View, CA - Über Desi

Restaurant Name: Memories of India - part 2 (yes, there is a Memories of India, the original)
Restaurant Address: 3895 Lake Emma Rd, Lake Mary , FL 32746
Restaurant Phone: (407) 804-0920

1. What kind of meal did you have?
Thali Lunch. They do offer regular dinner also.
2. What kind of food is it?
Mostly North Indian/Pakistani fare. Lunch Thali comes with option A (regular dish with white rice, raita, half naan, papad, chutney and pickle) and option B (option A + samosa). Mango ice cream free at end of meal.
3. What did you eat and drink?
Navratan Korma thali (option A). Wife had Palak Paneer thali (option A).
4. How is the ambience, decor and service?
Ambience is low-brow. Decor typical Indian restaurant - kitschy and mismatched. Service was surprisingly good. The waiter even jokingly gently chided me for ordering medium instead of hot.
5. What can you get to drink?
Soft drinks, sweet tea, wine, beer, lassi, chai, coffee.
6. What other dishes would you recommend? Any other selling point - music/dance?
Lamb bhuna, dal thadka. They advertise a champagne lunch on Sundays (don’t ask me what it means).
7. Is vegetarian friendly?
4 of 10 items in lunch menu were vegetarian. I would say mostly non-veg but sufficient choices for veggies.
8. Cost?
Reasonable. Of course, vegetarian items are cheaper than non-vegetarian.
9. Eat there again yourself?
Absolutely.
10. Would you recommend to friends?
Absolutely.

Other comments (if any):
Parking is easy but lot is hard to exit especially at lunch time. Both Memories of India restaurants have consistently featured among the top restaurants in Central Florida consistently. No frills but food is reliably good and reasonably priced (at least for lunch). Mostly frequented by office-goers for lunch.

Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Memories of India - part 2, Lake Mary - Über Desi

Name of Restaurant: Dosa Grill (http://www.dosagrill.com/)
Restaurant Address: 1980 Route 27, North Brunswick, NJ-08902 (Near the intersection of Route 27 & Cozzens lane)
Restaurant Phone: 732-422-6800

1. What kind of meal did you have?
A. Dinner

2. What kind of food is it?
A. South Indian / North Indian mix

3. What did you eat and drink?
A.
I had -
a. Idly in Sambar (Mini Idlies soaked in sambar) @ $3.75
b. Gunpowder Dosa (Spicy Milagai podi dosa with masala) @ $7.25
Friend had -
a. Veg Samosa @ $3.75
b. Ghee Roast (Thin crispy rice crepe flavored with Ghee ) @ $6.50

4. How is the ambience, decor and service?
A. Decent service, Ambience and decor - Diner like, nothing special.

5. What can you get to drink?
A. Me - plain water
Friend - Salt Lassi (apparently one of the better salt lassis that she has had)

6. What other dishes would you recommend?
A. Lunch buffet

7. Is vegetarian friendly?
A. 100 % vegetarian

8. Cost?
A. Reasonable

9. Eat there again yourself?
A. Yes.

10. Would you recommend to friends?
A. Yes. Decent enough food at a reasonable price.

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Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Dosa Grill, North Brunswick, NJ - Über Desi

Name of Restaurant: Straits Cafe
Restaurant Address: 3295 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (www.straitscafepaloalto.com)
Restaurant Phone: (650) 494-7168

1. What kind of meal did you have?
A. Lunch

2. What kind of food is it?
A. South Asian influenced, Rice, Noodles, pad thai, Sambol and lots of sea food.

3. What did you eat and drink?
A. Garlic noodles

4. How is the ambience, decor and service?
A. Upscale, lots of South Asian posters. Staff is pretty friendly.

5. What can you get to drink?
A. Pretty much anything

6. What other dishes would you recommend? Any other selling point - music/dance?
A. Pad Thai

7. Is vegetarian friendly?
A. Yes, they have a lot of meatless options

8. Cost?
A. About 10-12 bucks a dish

9. Eat there again yourself?
A. Absolutely

10. Would you recommend to friends?
A. Yes

Other comments (if any):
I saw a lady changing her kids diapers in the parking lot, so I guess you could call it a kid friendly place. Might be too adventurous for parents. Good place to take a date there in the evening. They have an outdoor patio, which looked pretty nice.

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Read our previous post: Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Naan N’ Curry, Berkeley

Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Straits Cafe, Palo Alto - Über Desi

The What?
Jhatpat = Hindi slang for “instant”.
UberDesi.com is introducing a new feature: Jhatpat Restaurant Reviews. This section will feature restaurant reviews submitted by our bloggers and most importantly, you, our readers. Staying true to the theme of our blog, we will cover only desi restaurants. However, we may choose to include some quirky non-desi places, world famous restaurants or ones by celebrity chefs. No Applebees or Olive Garden.

The Why?
Because, we all love to travel, socialize and above all, eat! Lets say you had dinner at this small local desi restaurant and you loved it. You want to share it with your friends and the world. But you don’t like to write a long winded review and neither do you have the time or patience to do so.

Use our Jhatpat Restaurant Review form and write one by answering 10 simple questions in under 10 minutes. We have even provided sample answers you can copy-paste. Everything is fast and free - 100% desi ishtyle.

How will it benefit me/others?
1. Get to know the restaurants in your area from contributions of other readers.
2. We will feature all desi restaurants irrespective of size, menu and/or location.
3. Get recognition for your contributions.
4. Find out what food and drinks others recommend.
5. Find a cheap but good restaurant for lunch.
6. Discover reasonably priced restaurants to take your date/significant other to.
7. Use as travel guide when you travel to other cities/countries.
8. Know which restaurants to avoid.

And above all, in case we forgot to mention this, it’s all fast and free - 100% desi ishtyle.

Inspired by Rapid Restaurant Reviews on San Francisco Metblogs, tailored to suit our readers.

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Read our preview post: Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Naan N’ Curry, Berkeley

Announcing new weekly feature: Jhatpat Restaurant Reviews - Über Desi

Name of Restaurant: Naan n Curry
Restaurant Address: 2366 Telegraph Avenue(between Channing Way & Durant Ave)Berkeley, CA 94704
Restaurant Phone: (510) 841-6226

1. What kind of meal did you have?
A. Ala carte Lunch/Dinner. San Francisco locations open 24 hrs a day
2. What kind of food is it?
A. Pakistani/North Indian fare.
3. What did you eat and drink?
A. Butter chicken, karela sabji (bitter gourd vegetable),Naan. Complimentary chutney bar and complimentary chai
4. How is the ambience, decor and service?
A. Decor: Minimalist and dhaba-like. Service: Self service.
5. What can you get to drink?
A. Soft drinks, sweet tea, beer, lassi, chai
6. What other dishes would you recommend? Any other selling point - music/dance?
A. Palak Paneer
7. Is vegetarian friendly?
A. Not really. However, the karela is a standout. Menu heavily non-vegetarian.
8. Cost?
A. Excellent. Still one of the cheapest desi meals you can find.
9. Eat there again yourself?
A. Yes
10. Would you recommend to friends?
A. Absolutely.

Other comments (if any):
Parking is a pain. Wouldn’t take parents there, kids maybe. Crowd is mostly Berkeley students.

Next week: My Jhatpat Restaurant Review of a lunch thali at Memories of India - part 2, Lake Mary, FL.

Jhatpat Restaurant Review: Naan N’ Curry, Berkeley - Über Desi