Eat It And Love It is written by 6 friends in Pittsburgh, PA - we have 2 vegetarians, 2 vegans, and 2 omnivores in our group. We don't make any money from the site and do the reviews for fun and to aid others when searching for the perfect spot to eat!
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My experience with eating Indian food has been limited to the buffet at India Garden and some samosas from the Indian guy who runs the convenient store by my apartment, so I'll just try to provide information rather than voice my opinion too much, since people like to post anonymous mean comments on my poor reviews.
Udipi Cafe is a small vegetarian Indian restaurant in Monroeville. It is a really simple place with a few booths and a few tables, and there is really not much decor. Food comes on plates and there is plasticware on the tables. Despite this, there is a lot on the menu. The menu consisted of several appetizers, dosai, curries, and pancakes. I learned that dosai is a thin rice cake with filling inside. There were probably a dozen different kinds of dosai on the menu, most of them offering a filling with potato, onion, and some type of Indian spices. There were also about a dozen different curries on the menu which were made with different Indian spices, sauces, and vegetables, and served on rice. There were also pancakes on the menu. I am not exactly sure what they were, but I was guessing that they were similar to dosai except that the filling was served on a fluffy pancake.
We got the appetizer sampler plate which had a sampling of many of the appetizers on the menu. Our sampler included onion rings, a lentil donut, a rice patty, a vegetable samosa, breaded jalapeno peppers, and something that was really crunchy like gravel. I did not care for the last thing and I'm not sure what it was. I also did not try the jalapeno peppers or the lentil donut, but I did like what I ate, except for the crunchy thing. And the vegetable samosa only seemed to be filled with peas which was ok, but I've had ones before with more vegetables that I liked better. The appetizer sampler also comes with four different dipping sauces: green chili sauce, coconut sauce, sweet sauce, and vegetable sauce. I have to admit that I wasn't feeling good vibes from most of the sauces, so I only tried out the vegetable sauce which was very good. My friend really liked the green chili sauce and the coconut sauce, but it just didn't look appetizing to me. Again, I don't eat Indian food often, so maybe I had some reservations about the sauces. If it isn't marinara sauce or ketchup, I usually don't go for it, and spicy food tends to make me sick so I just stuck to the basics.
For my entree, I ordered Aloo Matar which is potatoes and peas cooked in a tomato sauce with spices and served on rice. I did enjoy the meal a lot but I got full very quickly and had to take most of it home with me. I ate the rest of it later that evening, so I guess I liked it pretty well. I think if I go back I would like to try a dosai.
The service was fine. Like I said, it was a small place and the waiter pretty much left us alone but if we had needed something he would have been right there. It was a pretty inexpensive restaurant, and most of the entrees were under $7. Our bill came to $22 for two entrees and our appetizer, so I was happy with that. I might go back again, but if you know me, you know that I'd probably pick Eat 'n Park or Applebee's for my first choice next time. I'd recommend trying it if you like Indian food though, the portions were filling and there is a lot to choose from.
Udipi Cafe
4141 Wiliam Penn Highway
Monroeville, PA
412-373-5581
Posted by Jess at March 13, 2006 09:35 PM
What did the lentil doughnut look like? I love both lentils and doughnuts, so the combination of the two can only be a good thing.
Posted by: Julie at March 14, 2006 08:24 PM
I guess it just looked like a donut. It was round and fluffy looking on the outside and it had a hole in the middle!
Posted by: jess at March 14, 2006 08:48 PM
Udipi basically serves dishes from southern India, in contrast to most Indian restaurants that serve North Indian food. Many dishes are based on rice (vs wheat in North Indian restaurants). Dosai are very thin crepes / pancakes that are crispy and have a variety of fillings. Uttapams are thicker (almost look like pancakes) and are made from rice flour. Udipi serves several varieties of these dishes which are accompanied by a spicy soup called Sambhar. The lentil donuts are salty (not sweet) and made out of lentil flour / dough that is deep fired with a hole in middle (like Dunkin Donuts). These dishes are not routinely found in many Indian restaurants and Udipi Cafe is one of the best places to experience them. They serve authentic dishes but in a spartan atmosphere.
Posted by: Abhay at March 29, 2006 11:15 AM
I love Udipi! The lentil donut is kinda like a fried dough with lentils in it-i'm not much of a lentil fan so i didn't eat it. They have aother room in the back which according to my boyfriend are newer. The servers are all kind, prompt, and the food is yummy! For the guy that didn't like spicy sauce you should try the tamarind chutney---i LOVE it! Now I want some :(. The last time we went there we got this chickpea dish with a fried piece of bread (maybe poori but i forget.) We also got the malai kofta (vegetable balls in a curry sauce) and both were good...however if you have a weak stomach all the fried bread from the chickpea dish will make you a bit uncomfortable. I've also tried the dosai and it was very good as well, though i'd rather have malai kofta.
Posted by: Jackie at July 29, 2006 12:43 PM