Indian Bazaar

First the cons:
This place is very low end. Tables and chairs seem to be clean enough (barely). Trash receptacles are dirty. Trays do not seem to be cleaned properly.
Pros:
As a person of Indian origin, who knows what south Indian food should taste like — I would suggest that this place has some of the best south Indian food — and if you read my other reviews, some of which are 1 or 2 star, you will notice I am not that easy to please! I have eaten at the best of authentic South Indian restaurants in India. The absolute best, I have ever eaten was in a small town called Mangalore in India. It was the pinnacle of my experience of South Indian food. The ratings below are 5 star but I am excluding from the scale, the absolute best I have eaten in India.
This 5 star rating is — this is about as good as it gets in USA!
1. I had Masala Dosa today and it would be 4 star — almost as good as at most such restaurants in India. The «masala» is the potato curry which comes inside the Dosa — it is 5 star. The sambar, which is the soup, which accompanies the Dosa is also 5 star. The two sauces accompanying the Dosa are peanut chutney and tomato chutney are 1 star. Chutney is an Indian word — for a form of a thick spicy sauce.
2. I had the rasam (soup). It could be 4 or 5 stars. It is about as good as it gets in any restaurant in USA.
3. I had tried their special masala rava dosa in the past –it was worthy of 5 stars. UPDATE 12÷16÷15 — I tried their rava dosa again, today. It was not very good. The texture has changed. I am guessing that there is a change of cooks. I will try the regular dosa and update on that also, another time. I am not reducing the stars because it is still a good place to eat south Indian food.
UPDATE 1÷25÷2016: I spoke to the owner about the rava dosa. He said — just ask for «crispy». He was correct. The «crispy» version was just fine. It really is just about as good as it gets — even in India! 5 Stars!
4. Chilli Idli — I don’t know how to rate this, because I have never had it before, any place else, including in India. It is very good.
5. Plain Idli: 3 star. or maybe even 2 star. It is not very good. Avoid it. I was surprised at the lack of quality of this. A good idli should be soft, fluffy and must have just a touch of taste of fermentation of par boiled rice and Lentil. It has to be fresh made and it would take at least 20 mins to 30 mins to make it. Since they don’t have that volume, I suspect they simply microwave pre-​made Idlis. that is probably why it is not that good.
Masala Dosa and Rava Dosa, mentioned above, are typically acquired taste — mostly preferred by south Indians. If you are a Caucasian, I am not sure that the preceding two should be your first choice. You should consider ordering Samosas or Bhel puri (which I have tried a while ago but do not recall how good they are).
Indian food is very regional, usually varying from state to state in India. Major difference in food is between south India and North India. Majority of the restaurants in India serve north Indian food (Naan, Tandoori etc.).
India bazaar serves south indian and north indian food. I tried only the south Indian food. And it is just about as good as it gets — even for people of Indian origin.
I don’t eat there too often because it is simply not to my liking of cleanliness or setting. Not that India Bazaar is dirty but just that I would prefer a bit more «upscale» than it offers.
McDonald’s level of cleanlines is fine for me but India Bazzar does not meet even that standard. How ever, if it is lunch time and if i happen to be in the area, on a rare occasion, I do «sacrifice» my preferences and eat Rava Dosa or masala Dosa here. I enjoy the food but not the setting.

I’ve had the dosas and the chohle bhature here several times and have enjoyed my food every single time. However, it’s important to note that these items are meant to be eaten hot and right away, so carry out may not ‘ve a good option for these items.
As for the Gujarati appetizers like bhel puri and such, I’ve found them to be quite mediocre.
It’s self-​service and at the back of a grocery store, so don’t expect anything fancy.

This grocery is very tight and claustrophobic, but pretty clean and well organized. Good combination of South Asian ingredients, spices, produce, canned jarred and frozen goods. It’s also a little veg «fast» Indian food place with some different dishes than the usual Indian restaurant in America fare. They seem to specialize in Southern Indian, the Chief of Staff and I were pleasantly surprised to find a very authentic tasting Chettinad vegetable curry. Around the turn of the last century into mid 20^th century the Chettinars of Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu made little personal fortunes in finance and trade, they were a merchant clan-​caste. Now scattered far from their homeland, the fascinating and beautiful Hindu-​Tamil-​Art-​Deco architecture of their mansions make for a sad but still impressive ghost town. Their cuisine lives on, it’s not spicy hot but rather sweet as the result of influence from the French in Pondicherry and spices indigenous to Southern India (chili peppers actually came from the New World, the Tainos who were killed by Columbus, so there’s an ironic Indian connection). Too much information? Can’t help it, I’m a sociology professor. So unlike the somewhat inconsistent version at Maharaja, you can get a pretty Chettinad Chettinad curry here. Don’t expect fancy, the dining area reminds me of Southern India (less insects, cleaner), I don’t mind eating here, but you might want to get it to go. Actually they also sell Indian tiffin here, you might have fun taking it home in an actual Indian lunch box.

I had the dosa and it was awful. Tasted like rubber. Maybe it was just a bad day… but I would not recommend.

A very affordable, no-​nonsense Indian food joint inside an Indian grocery store. Very good South Indian food — dosas and uttapams. Chhole bhature are pretty good too. Also recommend chilli paneer. I have been doing takeouts almost weekly. The food is not as good anymore as it used to be but still pretty good.

I shop here for Indian snacks, homemade sweets and other hard to find grocery items. The prices are great and they’ve got a huge selection.
The restaurant is bare bones, but who cares when the food is this good. I like Maharaja for buffet, but when I’m in the mood to buy a bunch of takeout, this is where I go. Most of the time we eat part of the meal in the dining room and take the rest home. My favorite is the Special Rava Masala Dosa. There are cashews in the batter for the dosa. I’ve never seen this on the menu anywhere else.
The Mushroom Vindaloo is also very good, and the samosas are very tasty. I usually grab a coconut juice from the cooler to wash it down, but they also serve drinks from the kitchen.
Staff here is very friendly and helpful. Always a pleasant visit.

The Dosa are amazing. I discovered this gem through a coworker, and she swears by them for the authenticity. I agree with the other reviewers that they have plenty of Indian street food and great prices.
I’ve sampled 6 or 7 menu items, and loved them all. It’s fun to do a food trip with someone familiar with the fare.
Highly recommend the garlic chili dosa if you like spicy, or another dosa if not. Also, the samosa are great here. It’s a good thing this place isn’t downtown or I’d be there far too often.

In my opinion, this is the only place in Milwaukee that makes authentic Indian street-​style food. Prices are great and the food is well-​made. Very delicious.
The Dosas are special here, they make the real thing and do it well. I love the paper dosa and the delicious coconut chutney. I am also a fan of the Chat specials or the Dal Makhani but my favorite dish is the Chole Batura. The baturas are puffed up perfectly, crispy and hot and super soft and fluffy inside. Yum. You will not find any chicken tikka masala here. and that is a good thing.
This is not a fancy place (it is a little diner in the back of a grocery store). It is closer to a street stall in India than a nice sit-​down restaurant but the food is first rate.

Sag paneer is a saucy spinach and cheese dish. This was the best creamed spinach that I had ever eaten. There was a delicious lentil dish which was like a thick soup and that too, was delicious. Homemade naan and roti breads and fluffy basmati rice were perfection. I pigged out and had samosas and pakora. The pakora had a lot of vegetables. The food was good, fresh and cheap. The restaurant is in the back of a grocery store/​mini mart type of place. Very authentic and not too spicy.

Oh how I love me some Indian food and this place was mentioned to me to go and check out, so we did. Unfortunately, we chose to go on an evening that they don’t have the kitchen open… but were lucky that the owner said he could make us anything, with the exception of any of the dosas dishes. Drat. that was the one thing we wanted to try specifically. Regardless, I didn’t want to give up on trying a new place out, so we ordered Samosa Chat and Mirchi Bhaji (stuffed green chili fritter) appetizer, which was greasy, but tasted amazing. For our main entrees we ordered Aloo Gobi, that was served with rice and Aloo Palak. Both of these dishes were very good (a little heavy on grease) and chalked full of ingredients. The dining area isn’t pretty, but the food impressed. The samosa chat was really, really good. I will go back in hopes that they have their Dosa dishes available.