I went to Indy on Saturday to see the exhibition Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting and run some errands in the city--including lunch! After driving around and around an old shopping center, I finally got out of my car and found Udupi Cafe down a scary hall, tucked behind several stores. Luckily, the smell emanating from the restaurant was enticing, because the dirty hall was very discouraging.

Udupi Cafe serves south Indian vegetarian cuisine and at lunch has a pretty full buffet. I enjoyed the rasam and a pumpkin dal. The biryani was wonderful, slightly sweet but with a surprising and serious kick. They also do made-to-order dosas as part of the lunch service, served warm and crispy and filled with delicious potato masala studded with little seeds for a crunchy burst of flavor. Everything I sampled was very good and I'll definitely be back on subsequent visits to Indy.