Next time you get a craving to escape from the campus dining system, a quick drive up Main Street Extension will take you to one of the hidden gems of Middletown cheap eateries: Udupi Bhavan. This South Indian vegetarian restaurant serves some of the tastiest meals around for under $8.

Udupi is run by a family from Karnataka and thus specializes in South Indian cuisine.  As a result, there are zero Indian American food classics like chicken-tikka masala, which actually is a welcome break from what seems like the weekly Haveli-catered events on campus. The hole-in-the-wall joint is located right near the Middletown Hindu temple, which means it is busy at almost any given hour, packed with local Indian families.

I have visited Udupi many times, including once on my birthday, and have never had a disappointing meal, although it is imperative to go with a craving for spicy and fried food. For those who may be unfamiliar with South Indian food, I will give a quick rundown of what Udupi has to offer. Dosas are fried sheets of rice flour that are normally wrapped around an assortment of vegetables. The masala dosa is filled with potatoes and spices. The rawa masala dosa has added chilis and onions. A plain dosa is just the fried dough, so if you don’t want any spices, go for that one. Iddly are small fluffy patties that are great for dipping in the accompanying sambar sauce because they soak up liquids.

An uttapam is my personal favorite choice because they are not too fried and are very filling. Uttapams are flat rice-flour pancakes with various vegetables cooked on top. Try the one with tomatoes and onions.

As for appetizers, make sure to try the samosas and pani poori because they taste like they were just bought from a street-vendor in India. When you order your meal at the counter, also ask for a chai (and add two packs of sugar) to complete your Indian meal. Before you head out the door, grab a mango lassi from the fridge to bring home for a late-night snack later or for a stressed out roommate—if it doesn’t get devoured during the car ride home.

While the South Indian options exceed expectations, the North Indian items tend to lack flavor and pizzazz. The one time I tried the channa masala, I was a bit disappointed. So make sure to stick to the Udupi staples for a guaranteed satisfactory meal.

Upon my return  from studying abroad in Jaipur, I was especially excited about the opening of the Indian Grocery Store right next to Udupi. When I entered, I was immediately filled with nostalgia and promptly bought all of my favorite Indian snacks and candies. Even if you aren’t an aficionado for Indian food, this grocery store is definitely worth checking out purely based on the amount of bulk grains they sell as well as the prices of the spices. A bulk bag of cumin or mustard seeds is sold for $1.99 and a large bag of lentils is sold for $3.99, prices that are nearly impossible to find anywhere else. The store also has a refrigerator in the back filled with paneer, homemade reheatable Indian meals, and dosa mix. So next time you head to Udupi, make sure to check out the Indian Grocery Store as well.

Hours

Tues. to Fri.: 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Sat. and Sun.: 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Closed on Monday