South Indian food in Boston and vicinity?

[seefood]

Is there a place to get south Indian food around here? My search of the Chowhound.com archives didn't turn up anything. (The search function is still not so great, although I did manage to learn that there is, or at least was, a south Indian restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee.)

[Kat]

Is Chennai Woodlands in the old Udupi spot in Ashland? I need to check it out!

[Aromatherapy]

Yes. In a strip mall.

[jajjguy]

There's a place on Mass Ave in Cambridge near Central Sq (corner of Columbia) that's very good. Can't remember the name, but I think the word Dosa is in it.

[jajjguy]

The name of the place I was thinking of is Desi Dhaba. (The dosas are on the menu, not in the name...)

[Sgt Snackers]

IIRC Desi Dhaba is not strictly south Indian, though they do have a dosa on the menu.

[lavelanet]

Also Kushboo in Lexington is very good. Their Lamb Masala Dosa is wonderfull. And There is another good place on Moody street in Waltham who's name eludes me right now.

[cheryl_h]

We like Udupi Bhavan in Lowell a lot. The people were friendly, food fresh and tasty. We'd eat there any day.

[trufflehound]

Chenai Woodlands in Ashland is great. The place in framingham on 135 is not as good and overpriced. Udupi when it was in Framingham was good. I haven't been to Lowell or Shrewsbury.

[charlieg]

The place in Framingham is Dakshin and you're right, it is overpriced and has gone way downhill in the past six months or so. Chennai Woodlands is much better and totally without pretension.

[tamerlanenj]

I'm not an expert on regional Indian cooking, but India Quality has some options, and given the general quality of the establishment overall, I would recommend anything they prepare.

[limster]

I don't think India Quality has very much Southern Indian/Tamili food; the closest and most obvious to me would be the chicken Madras curry, but that's only one dish.

[tamerlanenj]

Looking over the menu now I see that you're pretty much right. What about Rani in Coolidge Corner?

[limster]

Rani's a Hyderabadii place, sort of more middle Indian rather than South, but don't remember if they have Tamili dishes. It may not necessarily be their speciality.

[whs]

Masaala in Billerica is great--just north of the Burlington Mall.

[finlero]

For southern Indian, Rangoli is definitely my favorite around town. The dosai are big, crispy, and enormous.

[fenian]

Many if not most Indian restaurants serve some South Indian food, distinguishing Boston from other cities. Look for dosas, uttapam, and chaat on the menu. Punjabi Dhaba is probably the restaurant most geared toward South Indian food, and is popular on this site, but I won't recommend it. Tanjore in Harvard Square, which seems to be owned by the same people as Rangoli, is OK, as is Namaskar.

[Bostonbob3]

This place in Ashland (about a 40-50 minute trip from Boston) is really good.

http://www.chennaiwoodlands.com/

This place in Somerville is okay:

http://www.namaskar-cuisine.com/

[Aromatherapy]

Agree on Chennai Woodlands (which is vegetarian, FYI). Namaskar's strength is Gujarati (Bombay/Mumbai area), not southern.

[mwk]

I had thought that Rangoli, in Allston, had a good selection of Southern Indian food on their menu. Overall the food is pretty good there, though I haven't been in quite a while, since it's so hard to park around there.