Dosa
The people who run the Dosa Indian restaurants in San Francisco, should hang shining gongs outside the sister restaurants front doors. Almost thirty awards since 2005, when the first restaurant opened on Valencia Street (my favorite location). The bigger, more sparkly sister, opened on Fillmore Street in 2008. There, you can soak up discrete, contemporary art while you enjoy the food - chandeliers from an award winning UK designer, and images of India from the French photographer, Olivier Follmi. The glittering awards are obviously a positive indication, but it's the food that counts. And the food is good. It compares well to the best contemporary Indian food you find outside India - like in the new wave Indian restaurants in the UK. You also get the additional bonus that the food is sourced from the highest quality, organic and sustainable ingredients.
With these different pieces of the puzzle, Dosa has carved a unique niche in the Bay Area restaurant scene: cool, contemporary, ethnic, relevant and relaxed.
Before I talk about the food, I would like to mention the wonderful selection of cocktails listed on the menu as "spice route" cocktails. Makes sense in the setting, as 85% of the world's spices come from India. Anyway, the selection of cocktails mix the whisky, gin, vermouth, tequila, rum and vodka, with spicy dashes of cinnamon, mango, masala, chai, ginger and cardamom. This mixing is done so smoothly, that it makes the "spice route" feel like you are on the "silk road".
Now the food. On a couple of recent visits (Valencia and Fillmore) with my 14 year old daughter, we steered towards vegetarian and fish dishes. The Dahi Vada lentil dumplings, spiced with tamarind and balanced with yoghurt. The Samosas, labelled North and South and based on spiced potatoes and vegetables. The seared Day Boat Scallops, with cilantro and lotus stems, which I like to refer to as Bench Mark Scallops, as they are probably as good as scallops get in San Francisco. The halibut pakoras, where the added spices are cut with citrus juice. Then onto the pancake like Dosas and Uttapams which are made from rice batter and black lentils- with a wonderful selection of fillings: from green mango and paneer farmers cheese, to sweet peppers and eggs.
The selection of vegetarian dishes is a big plus point, but there is also a compelling selection of meat based curries. Lamb Kofta with Chile Cilantro, Duck Vindaloo, Chicken Biryani and the delicious Spice Crusted Lamb Chops. For some palates, Indian food is nicely balanced with rice and breads, and these are neatly laid out in the menu.
There is an appealing selection of wines to match the spice based dishes the majority which come from organic or biodynamic vineyards. . Wines that go well can be dry, like the Meyer-Fonne Riesling from Alsace in France, or spicy, like the Gottardi Gewurztraminer from Italy. The wine list is well priced and caters for most tastes.
There is something complete, about having a dessert at the end of an Indian meal and at Dosa there is the added delight of a light pastry touch in some of the dishes. We shared an almond pear tart, with poached pears, dried cherries and a little dollop of crème fraiche.
If you know about Indian food, this is the place to go. If you don't know about Indian food, this is the place to go - go and find out.
Dosa
1700 Fillmore street, SF
995 Valencia street, SF
Photo courtesy of Dosa.
