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 Taste of south India
 The smell of masala dosa, the taste of a little vada - all bring back sights, sounds, tastes, smells and memories of Chennai, India.
In New Jersey, there are several restaurants that cater to almost every taste, be it Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian or even Mexican. Among the Indian restaurants there are more north Indian restaurants, and only few south Indian restaurants. The two south Indian restaurants that my family enjoys going to are Udipi Café, in Parsippany, NJ, and Saravanaa Bhavan in Edison, NJ. Other vegetarian restaurants in the area include Swagath, in Edison, NJ, and Malabar House in Piscataway, NJ.
 Both Udipi and Saravanaa Bhavan offer the authenticity of Chennai restaurants, with good customer service, and tasty south Indian foods.
The Udipi Café is located at Russo Plaza, Route 46 West, in Parsippany, and asserts that UDIPI stands for Upscale Dinning in Indian and Popular Incomparable style vegetarian cooking.
Owner of the Parsippany restaurant, Vinay Kumar, said, “Customers like the south Indian food, and that is why they enjoy coming here.” Vinay added that “There are two branches of Udipi Café, one in Parsippany, and one in Franklin Park, NJ.” Both branches have buffet ensembles every weekday. Udipi also offers Dosa Chat Night every Wednesdays, where customers get unlimited helpings of bhel puri, aloo tiki chole, and any version of dosa, or uthappam they prefer from a live station.
Staffed by approximately 20 employees, Udipi Café opened its doors to customers in February of 2005. Since then the restaurant’s crowds have gotten bigger and bigger. Reservations are encouraged, and the restaurant also offers catering up to 150 miles away from the Parsippany restaurant. According to Shashi Kanth, who works at Udipi, “I like to work here. I have a great boss, and really nice customers.”
In addition to the good customer service, Udipi Café, reminds one of the Chennai restaurants by offering the traditional south Indian thali at lunch and dinner. Further, the Udipi Special thali and Udipi Appetizer Assortments, also are available to customers who want to try a little of everything traditionally heralded as south Indian.
 A frequent restaurant patron, P K Narayanan, said, “Udipi appeals to all different demographics in the area, such as Americans, and also all Indians, be they Tamil, Telugu, Malayalee, or even Gujurati.” The food at Udipi is moderately priced, and is enticing for family affairs, or even for a simple get together with your friends.
The taste of south Indian food is also visible in Edison, NJ, with the recently opened Saravanaa Bhavan. Located at Oak Wood Plaza, 149 Wood Ave, in Edison, this Saravanaa Bhavan is a branch of a chain of restaurants in south India and around the world.
The manager of the branch, Rajavelu, who is originally from Pondicherry, said the restaurant was "one among other branches in USA."
Other Saravanaa locations in America include branches in New York and California. Staffed by 25 or so employees, the restaurant offers lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Sunday. The restaurant is closed on Mondays, but is open until 10 p.m. on weekdays, and later still on weekends. As with some restaurants, reservations are not required, but suggested. The first time I visited the restaurant with my family on opening weekend; we had to wait approximately an hour to be seated. The reason - the crowds.
Saravanaa Bhavan has opened to “a big Indian community,” added Rajavelu. He added, “There is no nearby typical south Indian restaurant, and so we want to and we do provide good quality traditional south Indian meals.”
Anthony, an employee at Saravanaa Bhavan, said, since its opening, “the restaurant,” has been fortunate to be “always crowded.”
Although the restaurant has not begun catering, catering is one of its future prospects. In addition to catering, they also plan to sell sweets and small snacks, just like the Saravanaa Bhavan restaurants in
Chennai.
 Mythili Narayanan, who tried the Saravanaa Bhavan thali for the first time, said, “This brings back memories of the food in Saravanaa Bhavan in Chennai.” Narayanan, who resides in NJ, also added, “I liked the Chennai restaurant, and I used to wonder why there are no restaurants like that in NJ. Now I am glad that Saravanaa Bhavan has opened here, so that my family doesn’t have to go all the way to Chennai to experience, taste and enjoy Chennai food.”
Similar to their Chennai counterparts, Saravanaa Bhavan in Edison offers the Saravanaa thali for lunch and dinner, and also offers traditional south Indian tiffins. For example, the Mini Tiffin includes mini idly, vada, mini masala dosa, uppuma and kesari. Other items on the menu vary from uthappam, and Mysore bonda, to masala dosa, adai avial, and sambar
vada.
Overall, Saravanaa Bhavan, and Udipi Café are two restaurants that cater to the south Indian taste buds, and to south Indian wallets. I highly recommend visiting either restaurant, not just to reminisce about Chennai but also to enjoy the experience.
Priyanka Narayanan
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