Road To Yekstasy!

Sri Sagar
Address: 7th Cross, Margosa Road, Malleswaram, Bangalore
Tel: 23317531
Meal for two: Rs. 120

he fact that the world’s best dosas are found in Bangalore is a given. The only question is, which are better: the ones at Vidyarthi Bhavan or the ones at Sri Sagar? Ah, that is a highly contentious and emotive issue—like asking who was the greater spin bowler, B.S. Chandrasekhar or E.A.S. Prasanna? The debate is endless.

Sri Sagar’s masala dosas have been famous for sixty years. They’re crisp and browned on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and topped with a dollop of ‘benne’ (butter) specially ordered from the dairies of Nagamangala. But unlike Vidyarthi Bhavan’s famous ‘half-moon’ dosas, they are rolled over. They’re served with the restaurant’s famous house chutneys, coconut and kothambari, but no sambar—the point being that sambar is meant for idlis, which are improved by a soaking, not for something crisp like a dosa, which gets ruined as a result. Sri Sagar also serves other things like rava idli and maddur vada but we’d suggest that you, instead, order yourself yet another delicious dosa (no matter how great the rush, they’re prepared only when ordered and take at least 8 minutes to make). And then, to top it off, a tumbler of piping hot, fragrant filter coffee. Yekstasy!

Just one small complaint: why the heck did they change the name of this joint from the delightfully R.K. Narayanesque old ‘Central Tiffin Room’ to ‘Sri Sagar’? Never mind, its loyalists still call it ‘ctr’, like they’ve always done.