mother may i?: San Diego Part I: Thumpity Thump Thump...

Heyo.
I am back from my short trip to SD. It was great seeing everyone again, especially those who I had not seen since I had graduated. Being able to come down after such a long time made me realize how much I missed San Diego...Anyhow, enough on the nostalgia and onto what I had for lunch.
I met with some friends at Madras Cafe in the Indian Plaza off Black Mountain Road and Miramar for their buffet lunch, which was around 8 or 9 bucks. The place serves southern Indian food and is vegetarian. I don't remember exactly how many different items there were, but it was around 10-15.

All their ware is stainless steel from the trays to the cups. There is a pitcher of water on each table, which is a good thing for people like me who drink a lot.

Here's a plate of all the stuff I got. I really need to start taking some notes; I can't remember much but will try my best. From the top left corner and going clockwise, a spinach dish, okra (which had a spicy kick to it), cauliflower, carrots, and potatoes that was cooked with coconut, two types of rice, pickled lemon(i think), pakoras, and a salad with yogurt on it. I don't really know much of the names or what was in it. On the top three dishes, I did see some kind of seed that tasted like licorice. One friend remarked that none of the ingredients seemed very fresh.

There were also two kinds of soup available, and although I had both, I only took a picture of this one. It was sour tasting and had tomatoes in it.

Shortly after we had gotten our food, a waiter came out and gave us each an idli, which is a steamed cake made from fermented black lentils and rice. I enjoyed this and wish I could have had another.

We were also given a masala dosa, which was a crepe made from rice and lentils and was filled with potatoes. To the right was some kind of puffy thing. I've tried to look it up, and I think it might be puri. My puff was the only one that came out deflated. Winner! It was a bit oily, and I thought it was okay. There was also something else available that could have been puri, but I didn't take a picture of it. All I know was that on my first bite, it tasted like a shrimp cracker.

There were also two types of dessert available. One was some kind of sweet milk dish, which I thought was a little watered down, while the other was a rice pudding? dessert that was way too sweet.

The service was friendly when we first came in, but disappeared from sight soon after. I know this is a buffet, and it's all about self sevice, but they never took our plates away, and the place wasn't that busy either. Also, memory is a fickle thing, but I thought that the food was better on my previous visits. I've heard that there is some good Southern Indian places in Artesia and will definitely have to try one of those places out to get a more rounded view on what Southern style is all about...

I ate two plates and boy was I full. I definitely regretted eating too much because this stuff did not go down well, and my stomach was killing me later on that night.

9484 Black Mountain Rd
(between Activity Rd & Miramar Rd)
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 695-6229