List of yummy food places in Chennai

galahad

Like kalyani68 says,
"The Grand sweets and snacks" is truly a wonderful place..
I know about the Adyar branch,which is where they started out.
This one is on the 2nd Main road,Gandhi Nagar,Adyar(Odyssey is on the 1st main road).
It is set in a very non-commercial,laid-back atmosphere.I remember going there most of the time just to get the hourly freebies that they dole out in those dried banana leaf cups,than to actually buy something!They make the best "mixture" by a mile,and will top any sort of rating on that one.Also stocked are a whole range of ready-to-cook mixes and powders.

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/06/22/s...2200200300.htm
http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/...1650080100.htm

And they go by this line:"Good food for good people".Uncomplicated stuff.

To get the best "Mysore Pak" in town though,you have to be at the "Sri Krishna Sweets",which is at the other end of the 1st main road,Gandhi Nagar,Adyar.They have quite a few branches around the city,including one inside the Chennai International airport departure terminal.These guys are good at their sweets,and their savories are not anything special.
On the other hand,the Grand Sweets are really good at their Savories.Have not really tried their Sweets yet...

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Earthling

Galahad the link in your signature is tops!!

Not by FD but anyone remember Mile Sur Mera Tumhara?

Thanks to all those who have posted and thanks in advance for the reccos to come

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priji

Saravana dosas very much .

rangss

Nick! Et tu? I thought it was only I who loved their jackfruit ice-cream!

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Nick-H

That's it then... I recall you were unable to come to our wedding due to health problems, and somehow we never arranged to meet.

But now we have to get together over a Saravana Bhavan icecream

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rangss

Masala Dosa: Over Sarvana, I still plump for a Woodlands MD. Even their Puri Potato has no equal! Apart from the Radhakrishna Salai Woodland duo (New Woodlands and Drive In) I would also recommend the little eat out at Narada Gana Sabha on TTK Road. The dosas here are the best.

nyraghu

Does look like much water has flown under the bridge since the years I spent in Madras as a graduate student. I used to frequent Saravana Bhavan in T. Nagar, don't remember going to one in Mylapore. It used to be a decidedly prole place, with people standing around next to tables, so that they can grab a place as soon as the person occupying it has finished. The food was okay, but not the best around.

Sometimes, of an evening, my professor and a few of us students used to drive down to a place called Karpagammal's Mess behind the Kapaleeswara temple in Mylapore. It was yet another prole place, run from a small house, and served excellent food. They used to have just a few (not more than ten) items on the menu at any time, and a person at the door used to tot up one's bill on a slate with a chalk.

Another place that I used to like was Matsya in Egmore, also a veggie place like the ones above, despite the name. Further, a Keralite place called Kalpaka near the Music Academy. During the music season, the canteen at the Academy itself used to do excellent snacks.

Raghu.

Nick-H

Saravana Bhavan's Mylapore restaurant is quite new, only a few years old, which would explain why you do not remember it. It's very clean and modern.

The small place by the temple is Karpagamabal Mess, I think. I'm not 100% certain of the spelling, but pretty sure there is a b in there. I've always giggled at the double meaning of "mess", but I'm afraid that it is a bit of a mess these days, and I've never eaten there. I tried to get tea there one day quite a few years ago, and was told coffee (kaaffi!) only; another reason I never went back. Some of the Brahmin strongholds serve only coffee, and I am a tea addict with a coffee allergy!

nyraghu

Minor point, but those cups IIRC are not made of banana leaves, but another leaf, which is called "vistaraku" in Telugu. I don't know the term for it in any other language. It is apparently the leaf of a leguminous plant. Got that from

P. L. Narasimham, `Legumes-Pappulu-Pappu: Plants of Andhra,' http://www.teluguworld.org/Writers/PALANA/legumes.html

Raghu.

nyraghu

Nick, thanks for updating me on Saravana Bhavan. I think you are right about the spelling of Karpagambal's Mess. It was indeed a mess even in those days, but then we used to be a fairly lenient bunch. However, yes, you are right, it is not for everyone.

I thought it was "kaapi" rather than "kaaffi!" Of course, orthodox SIB places don't serve tea, coffee being more or less universally the preferred drink in the community.

Raghu.

Nick-H

Kaapi... yes, of course, ISTR someone here on IM explaining to me that that "ff" sound doesn't come in Tamil. I'm a very bad language student

"Karpagambal"... Yes, I think this is right. An extra "a" crept into my post. Bad at languages; pretty bad at typing too

Hyderabadi

Does anyone know if Gajendra Vilas still exists? Mount Road (Anna Salai I guess) near Parry's?

Lots of Autorick,taxi drivers.

Terrific Paaya, Chicken Curry, etc., with Dosa and Idli. Open really late.

Nick-H

I don't know.

I sometimes go to a non-veg place near Parry's called Rolex!

Khak

Hi
What about good non-veg options in Chennai ?

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Nick-H

Tangerine in Murray's Gate Road, Alwarpet for good non-Indian non-veg.