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| - IF YOU ARE VEGAN OR HAVE FOOD ALLERGIES, DINE W/ CAUTION!
We went @ 8pm on a Saturday evening. It looked closed, but once we got closer we could see that they were open, and there was just an evening ambiance inside. (Very nice for a date night.) No one was at the host station when we walked in, however, we were greeted within seconds and shown to our table. The tables were pre-set with plates. (I'm OCD & not a fan of this practice.)
Papadum (lentil crackers) arrived moments later, served w/ a tamarind sauce & green chutney. I inquired if the green chutney was vegan. The waiter had no clue what I was talking about, so I asked if it had any dairy in it, such as yogurt. He shook his head, no, and said it was made w/ mint.
We ordered: Samosas, Spinach Pakora, Gobi 65, Mysore Masala Dosa, Aloo Paratha, Plain Naan. I advised him (again) that I am vegan and inquired if any butter was put on the dosa or the paratha. He was very confused. He began to stumble his way through an explanation, saying that they may put butter on the dosa, but he wasn't sure. I reiterated that it mustn't have ANY animal products, and I nicely, yet firmly, directed him to find out, and to make sure any butter, yogurt, or dairy, was omitted from all of my dishes. He said ok, and jotted notes on his order pad.
Also, he noted that the Gobi 65 is $4.99 on the menu, but rings up as $6.99. I do appreciate being informed of this right away, but they should update their menus; put a sticker w/ the new price over the old price. (There were stickers, for lack of a better word, over other item edits on the menu, so this shouldn't be a difficult task.)
Gobi 65 - deep fried cauliflower covered in a red sauce (not spicy), arrived in less than 5 minutes. It was DELICIOUS & bursting with flavor! Easily my favorite dish!
Samosas were HUGE!
Spinach Pakora - battered and deep fried spinach. Generous portion. It was good. I would prefer more seasoning, but I like things heavily seasoned.
Aloo Paratha - whole wheat bread stuffed with spiced potatoes (not spicy). It was good. I think some Earth Balance would make it better.
Plain Naan - They have a "Butter Naan" on their menu, so I'd assume the plain naan has no butter, but I let the non-vegans have it; I didn't try it.
Mysore Masala Dosa - rice & lentil based crepe filled with potato masala & spicy chutney. It came out as this enormous triangular-shaped crepe, bigger than my entire head! I honestly did not know what to do with this monstrosity of a beast. Do I roll the whole thing? Do I cut the corners and nibble inwards? I made a big mess of it, but it was delicious, and I could taste a small kick (might be a more noticeable spice level to those who are spice-sensitive). Large enough to share.
2 more chutneys came with the dosa. 1 was an orangish color and the other was a light green color. I recall her (someone other than the waiter was bringing out the dishes) saying that the light green sauce was coconut based. I inquired if any of the sauces contained any yogurt or dairy, and I backed that up with, "Are they vegan?" She also gave a bewildered look, shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, saying, "I don't think so." She didn't care to find out either. I simply abandoned those sauces off to the side.
The restaurant was clean (Although my fork had caked-up food on it, which the female server did not attempt to replace once informed), the tables were nicely spaced in distance, and there was nice elegant meet rustic decor. It was quiet and peaceful, but there were only a few other tables present and they were on the opposite side of the restaurant.
The waiter and the lady (different from the female server) who filled our glasses with water were very nice & attentive. Both came over several times to inquire how we liked everything.
I called Karaikudi this morning because I had questions about the ingredients. The woman who answered asked the chef about the dosas. She said, "There's a lady on the phone who's vegan, you know, vegetarian..." HOLD UP! Vegan & vegetarian are NOT the same thing! She continued to ask about butter on the dosas, to which the chef said that he puts butter on the dosas. But I ate here last night and they made my dosas w/o butter. She mentioned this to the chef and his response was that they can NOT be made without butter. (She also informed me that the green chutney has yogurt!) You fed me non-vegan food; I am terribly vexed!
Yummy food, pretty good service, but the staff's lack of knowledge regarding the meaning of vegan, the ingredients in the dishes, & last night's staff's unwillingness to assure that my requests were honored, are unacceptable! What if I was allergic?!
I'd be more than happy to reevaluate & update once the owner:
1 - educates the entire staff on the meaning of vegan, what is/ isn't and can or cannot be made vegan on the menu, and
2 - mark the menus to indicate vegan & can be made vegan dishes.
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