I am a home cook, not a foodie. My wife, son, and daughter-in-law enjoy a good “event” meal. Over the years, I’ve come around to it too. I’ve especially grown to appreciate chef’s tasting menus. There’s something appealing about a meal that asks you to slow down and treat eating as an event. My palate, […]

On a recent trip to Bengaluru and Mysuru, I made a simple rule: eat only South Indian food, preferably at places with outsized reputations. The rule led me to three dosa institutions. A dosa is never just a dosa; there are many variants, each with its loyalists and logic. And you can’t quite separate the […]

When The New York Times recently named Semma the best restaurant in New York City—the gastronomic capital of the United States—it may have marked a long-overdue breakthrough for South Indian cuisine. As NYC’s only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, Semma had already earned critical acclaim, but the NYT accolade brought it into the broader public spotlight. For […]