The following review comes from the November 18, edition of the Heavy Table newsletter via Patreon. That unmistakable boardwalk entrance with its teetering round dock pilings. The warm glow of light from the portal windows beaconing you inside. But to the imagination of a naive six year old, going into Long John Silvers felt like visiting some old sea shanty on the end of a foggy pier. This one felt like a later-model version of the franchise after corporate tightened their belts on the design budget.
But the boardwalk was still there. And it was hard not to smile while revisiting those nostalgic childhood memories. What was even more heartening however was to discover that this building, originally designed to shovel low-grade fried fish down the gullets of the masses, had finally found its true purpose in life. Namely, as home to an independently owned family restaurant serving truly fantastic South Indian food. Sometimes the universe has plans that corporate could never have predicted.
This dosa had a remarkably nice chew to it, an even application of savory, elegant filling, and a lovely selection of three housemade to our palates, anyway dipping opportunities. These ranged from an almost marinara-like spiced tomato paste to the classic dosa-complementing sambar soup to an herb-forward coconut-based dip that was close to but a little more assertive than a yogurt sauce. They arrived with the same three sauces that flanked our dosa, so we were able to joyfully break apart and dip these things as well.
This stuff was heavily layered with complex, balanced, entertaining levels of spice, suggesting smoke, garlic, and ginger, with enough cream to be pleasing but not so much as to be oppressively rich. Skip to content.
