My better half is away thurs and friday, meeting my nephew on thurs but gonna go somewhere or other fri for lunch or dinner. Right now thinking about wandering around flushing for little bites and then ganesh temple canteen for dosa. Or perhaps dosa hut. or maybe both 
Or I dunno, if the carts are back at corona square, I’d iike to support what’s happening there.
give a shout if you’d like to join, open to anything though sunset park is feeling a bit far after our last jaunt.
best,
Please note the 29th is ’ Mid-Autumn Festival ’ day …so ALL Chinese/Oriental/ SE Asian places will be packed!!
thanks charles! I probably won’t sit down anywhere, just graze until I get to the canteen.
Have fun - I suggest eating at Dosa Hut rather than the temple canteen - they used to have fresh sugarcane juice, which is a highlight for me anywhere.
(If you go on Thursday, the Sai Baba temple a block and a half away on Robinson has prasad in the form of a full meal in the basement.)
thanks, what do you like at the hutt? i havent had rava masala dosa in ages but i’m easily swayed by your recommendations.
My standard order at these kinds of places is onion rava masala dosa - masala on the side, dosa extra crisp, medu vada, and idli (most places have an idli-vada option with one of each so you don’t have to order 2 separate plates of 2 each).
Also popular is a “Tiffin” that includes a small dosa and/or uttapam, idli and/or vada, upma (savory cream of wheat), and something sweet — I almost always want rava dosa, though, and I make upma, so it’s not my thing to get.
Plus, always, filter coffee - but you have to tell them if you want it at the beginning (otherwise it’s served at the end).
And if their machine is functional, one or two of the fresh sugarcane juice (one there, one to go 
)
omigod that sounds great, thanks! I didn know one could order it extra crispy! why do you ask them to separate the dosa and the masala?
i’ll probably be too full of noodles, dumplings, egg tarts
and i’m thinking taiwanese fried pork chop/chicken to eat idli-vada unless it’s a must order there?…and there used to be a bakery walking back that had a chinese version of mini-chicken biscuit sandwiches.
what’s the point of a crisp dosa with soggy masala blobbed in the middle of it 
I try to triage these trips… eat what won’t travel well, carry back what will be fine at home. Dosa doesn’t reheat well (though my nephews would disagree, and it does crisp up again in the oven, it’s just not the same as fresh). Idli / vada is fine to carry home. Dumplings: yes. Pork chop: better fresh, though I’ve reheated them later.
Pls note name and location to share!
what’s the point of a crisp dosa with soggy masala blobbed in the middle of it
i dunno, like a samosa? i imagine breaking off a piece of dosa to grab some masala? or is the point that the masala is steaming the dosa?
You raise interesting textural points.
Samosas (of the Punjabi or other variety) offer a textural contrast between their crisp edges – plus those glorious corners – and their softer middles, a contrast less dramatic the more freshly-fried the samosa, but interesting nevertheless.
Ditto dosas. The potato-masala filling, usually balled in the middle of a long dosa, steams the middle of it and slightly softens it, but the ends stay crisp. I’m fine with that, but others may prefer otherwise.
I like my dosa crisp - it’s always also a bit soft, of course, but you know what I mean.
If you order a sada (plain) dosa, it stays that way till you dip it in chutney or sambar.
But for a masala dosa, they put a blob of the potato bhaji in the center and then roll it up, which ruins 1/3 of the dosa for me.
But I love the potato filling. So, masala on the side. Since I was a kid.
(Also, this way, if there are leftovers, reheating the dosa in the toaster oven or a pan is actually somewhat possible - a masala-filled dosa is pretty much done the first time.)
(Punjabi) Samosa wrappers are a lot thicker than dosas. So you get the sog on the inside, but it’s still crisp outside.
Patti (like a spring roll wrapper) Samosas get soggy as they sit after frying, and so are best consumed immediately (or reheated to crisp up).
But your points are fair. And also I am picky.
great idea, I’m gonna give it a try!
thats a great idea! do you ever patronize the NY dosa cart on Washington Sq Park? Its been a few years but I have really enjoyed his stuff - disassembled for takeout. http://nydosas.com/menu/
some rain yesterday, thought about going but a little afraid of finding myself stranded in flushing for the night. saw photos of roosevelt ave, probably best that i stayed home.
this will probably have to wait until mid-december.
