In December, Anjan and Emily Mitra opened a second branch of their South Indian eatery, DOSA on Fillmore. They brought their executive chef, Senthil Kumar, from Valencia Street to run the kitchen in this bright, spacious building that has been beautifully transformed from its former Goodwill digs.

My father has enjoyed traveling to India, so I invited him to sample DOSA’s dishes. Once we ordered, our server gave us a plate of papardam, large black pepper crisps made with lentil butter. We nibbled while listening to an interesting mix of American pop and traditional Indian music in the background. We shared Blackened Sardines ($9.50), a pair of deliciously crispy fried sardines rubbed with green chiles, coriander, cumin, pepper, chopped greens and onions accompanied with lime and a cucumber, tomato and red onion salad. The Chennai Chicken ($9.50) came out next, organic chicken marinated in organic yogurt with coriander and cumin, then fried. It packs a perfect amount of heat from all the spices. It came with a slaw of cabbage, carrot, beet, red onion and spinach lightly dressed with a sweet cilantro vinaigrette. There are a variety of Dosa, or savory rice and lentil crepes, and Uttapam, a slightly thicker pancake version of Dosa, to choose from. Both come with three condiments – a fresh tomato chutney, coconut chutney, and sambar, a warm lentil dipping soup made of assorted vegetables and spices. My father had the Chile and Cilantro Uttapam ($10) with green chiles, onion and cilantro which was tasty but much milder than I expected. I ordered the Spring Dosa ($11), crunchy veggie rolls filled with fresh cabbage, carrots, red onion, peas and typically, cashews, but I opted to go without. They delivered a Spring Uttapam by mistake, but quickly replaced it with a Dosa, and plated it with an extra piece to make up for their error. We tried Coconut Basmati Rice ($3) cooked in a myriad of flavors including coconut milk, yellow lentils, mustard seeds, red chiles, and South Indian drumstick leaves which are mostly strained out before serving. It was interesting, didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.

Today, DOSA on Fillmore was a sunny, quiet setting for a liesurely lunch, but I hear it packs a weekend crowd who enjoy the dinner and lively bar scene. Speaking of the bar, we each enjoyed a signature cocktail. The Bengali Gimlet ($10) was a refreshing blend of Tanqueray Rangpur Gin, “curried” nectar, Kaffir lime leaf and juice, served up with a lime wedge. I tried the Mood Indigo ($10) with Buffalo Trace Bourbon, jackfruit marmalade, Angostura bitters, chilled and topped with sparkling wine which was fruity with a nice bite from the bitters.

All in all, it was a pleasant dining experience. Despite being a little heavy on the fried treats and a tad steep for everday lunching – our total bill came to more than $70 – this is a fun place to go occasionally with family or friends when you are not in a big hurry. Good variety for vegetarians and wheat and gluten-free eaters. Lunch is served daily from 11:30am-3:00pm.

For more info: http://www.dosasf.com