17. The Dosa Truck

Yesterday I was headed to Miracle Mile to finally try Baby’s Badass Burgers and found myself in a sea of food trucks. I quite seriously have never seen this many of them in the same place, at the same time. I get to say it: Food-Truck-O-Rama!!

And, of course, my indecision attacked my resolve. I ended up at The Dosa Truck. Well, they had all the pretty, dangly, colorful, streamers and lanterns and pretties adorning the truck! I’m a sucker for packaging. I also had not stumbled upon the Dosa Truck yet and I see Baby’s Badass around quite a bit.

Probably as a result of the galaxy of trucks in one location (or perhaps their karma), there was almost no line in dosa land. I asked for suggestions and was told to either go with the Shiva Shatki (1/2 sweet potato, 1/2 masala dosa) or the Slumdog (Indian “pesto” rubbed inside the dosa with paneer, fresh spinach and masala dosa potatoes). I went with the Slumdog and a homemade ginger limeade, totaling $8. The wait seemed a hair lengthy, but I never got too antsy. Plus, entertainment factor - the owner, Brooklyn-born Leena Deneroff, was frenetically scurrying about making sure everyone knew about her HOMEMADE ginger limeade. She’s in the top picture in the white shirt.

So, for those of you as yet unaware, a dosa is South Indian street food. It’s a crispy, sourdough crepe made from rice and lentil flour, stuffed with regional and gourmet ingredients, then rolled long and thin. Paru’s on Sunset makes a damn good one.

I liked this. It appeared to be a lot of food at first, but after bite #1 I knew it was going to be the perfect portion. The dosa itself retained a bit more of the oil’s taste than I would prefer, but was light, airy and nutty. The stuffing, however, was inspired, fresh and delicious. The fresh spinach was a surprising touch that lent itself beautifully to the paneer and potatoes. And the pesto was an ideal accent, and one I would have never expected! The limeade was zingy and refreshing and also a model element in enriching the meal.

As sure as the truck reads, “Ooooom good”. I finished everything in under 5 minutes and yes, I’ll be back.