Flushing Ganesh Temple Canteen: Above Average Food; Excellent Jangiri & Madras Coffee
There are the legions of devotees of Lord Ganesh who come here hungry for his blessings - food for the soul.
And then there are the legions of devotees of the Canteen who come here hungry for its tasty South Indian offerings - food for the body.
Usually the two sets of devotees overlap at the Flushing Ganesh Temple. After all, what could be better than eating divine food after receiving divine blessings.
For us and surely for many others over the years, one of the attractions of a visit to the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, NY has been the canteen in its basement.
Serving a variety of delicious vegetarian dishes such as Dosa, Upma, Idli, Vada and sweets like Laddu and Jangiri, the canteen is a welcome retreat for those craving genuine South Indian food.
So the other day it was with our usual anticipation that we headed for the Flushing Ganesh Temple Canteen in the company of a friend from India after offering prayers to Lord Ganesh.
Since this is a self-service canteen, you head to the counter, place your order and wait for it to be ready.
During weekends, there's a long line, all the tables are occupied and the food can take up to 10-12 minutes to be ready. But during week days, the place is not crowded and the food is ready in just two or three minutes. Only the Mysore Masala Dosa took about five minutes during our lunch visit on a weekday.
Delicious Idli
We struck the jackpot with our first choice - Idlis.
The Idlis were a treat from the very heavens. Featherlite, soft and delicious, we dug into the Ganesh Temple Idlis with the fervor of ardent devotees.
These fluffy Idlis evoked nostalgic memories of the countless times we've had them in the many nooks and corners of Tamil Nadu (a state in South India), where they are so popular.
Idli's accompaniments - the Coconut Chutney and Sambar - were a bit of a letdown. The Chutney was fresh but bland and the Sambar was lacking in flavor.
Vada was far too oily. Our querulous Tamil friend from India whined that the oil had a funny smell.
Tasty Upma
However, the tasty Upma ($2.50) amply made up for the mediocre Vadas. Ganesh Temple's Canteen serves a really large helping of Upma, far more than we could eat even with our gargantuan appetites.
Upma at the Ganesh Temple Canteen is much better than at the nearby Sai Bhavan. But Sai Bhavan's chef Madhusudhan Rao makes better Chutney and Sambar.
Good Dosa
Mysore Masala Dosa ($4.00) was good with a delicious onion/potato filling inside. We'd have liked the Dosa a bit more crisp.
Besides the Mysore Masala Dosa, the Flushing Ganesh Temple Canteen offers a variety of other Dosas and Uttappams.
Dry Ven Pongal
Our friend has a weakness for Ven Pongal and so we tried that as well. Ven Pongal ($2.50) was a letdown, more intriguing to behold than to ingest. Flavorless and dry, the Ven Pongal came with a bland chutney and did not rise above the ordinary.
Ganesh Temple Sweets
Sweets at the Ganesh Temple Canteen were a mixed bag.
Jangiri (a South Indian sweet similar to Jalebi) was simply divine in taste. Setting aside concerns of our sugar-levels, we devored these orange-red sweets.
Alas, the Laddus were below average, small and bordering on stale.
Fine Madras Coffee
Madras Coffee ($1.00) was simply superb, its memory lingering long after our last sip.
Muruku Snacks
We also packed a variety of snacks such as Ribbon Pakoda, Muruku and Mixture. We found the Mixture very good but the other snacks were below par.
Flushing Ganesh Temple Canteen also sells various Indian spice mixes such as Rasam Powder, Chutney Powder and Tamarind
Paste.- © NYIndia.us
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