Hungry at midnight? Tough luck

Hungry at midnight? Tough luck

Anil Kumar Sastry
ROADSIDE DINER: Pushcart eateries operate well past the deadline.
BANGALORE: Afraid of being booked for drunken driving, Sunil and a few of his friends decided to hold their weekend party at his Hoskerehalli home. The party was good fun till the food ran out. With rumbling stomachs, they went out in search of food. However, it was past midnight and no eatery was open in the vicinity.

Finally, it was Mr. Sunil’s friend Giriraj, who knew the area well, who saved the day.

He took them to a little dosa place in Banashankari II Stage which often functions well past the midnight deadline as long as the batter lasts.

But, Mr. Giriraj said he cannot guarantee if the outlet will be open beyond midnight. “Availability of the dosas depends upon many factors, including the beat police,” he pointed out.

Krishnakanth, an IT professional, concurred. Last month his friends from Chennai who landed in Bangalore around 11.30 p.m. went hungry to bed as they could not find single eatery that was open.

He said he always advises his outstation friends to eat before coming to Bangalore in the dead of the night.

Certainly there are many food joints that remain open, Mr. Giriraj said, but their operation depends on police action.

Also, they don’t give customers much choice. On the other hand, coffee shops in many five-star hotels are open till 2 a.m., said Mr. Krishnakanth.

However, not everyone can afford their prices.

Some of the places where food is available past midnight include the dosa and idli camps on Avenue Road, the bread-omelette camp near Cantonment Railway Station, the idli-sambar and dosa camp near South End Circle, the food street at Sajjan Rao Circle, the parota camp near Shavige Malleshwara Hills in Kumaraswamy Layout, Moonlight Hotel in Malleswaram, Hotel Taj at K.R. Market, roadside eateries in Shivajinagar, dhabas on Bellary Road off Kogilu Cross, dosa and idli camp at Wilson Garden, and hotels at the KSRTC Bus Station in the Majestic area and the City Railway Station.