Dosas from Mysore Woodlands

Chicago’s “Little India,” also known as Devon Avenue, stretches in a long, east-west line dissecting West Rogers Park. As you drive down the street, you’ll notice most of the restaurants offer food from the Northern regions of India – Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab being the most widely represented. Yet finding the wonderfully tropical, coconut-influenced flavors from the south – mainly Kerala – is more elusive. That’s why Mysore Woodlands stands out from the crowd.

Among the delicious, highly-complex vegetarian dishes and colorful thali platters, Mysore offers a range of dosas – or rice and lentil crepes – spread out to the size of an Elephant’s ear. Inside many of them: a richly-spiced mound of soft, mustard seed-flecked potatoes, jammed with peas and carrots, tinged yellow from tumeric; alongside, some coconut chutney, a cup of sambar (vegetable soup) and some spicy tomato sauce – all great for dipping the crispy crepe into. Get a sweet mango lassi to go along with it, and you’re all set to snack like a South Indian. Incidentally, other good options for dosa along Devon include Udupi Palace and Sagar.