samosa

(Gerry Furth-Sides) One, two, three, four –here’s why THE perfect score for food and service at Banana Leaf DTLA, one month-old today. It makes me so 🥰 because the owner is the publisher of LocalFoodEater. 

Please read the story about how the restaurant added a location to their Culver city flagship in //localfoodeater.com/southern-cuisine-banana-leaf-moves-north/

(1) First off, two samosas( $4.99), always made from scratch here, are so big that one order could make a meal with a side. Plump with a potato mash, bright peas and mint combination snugly packaged into each substantial triangle, the firm crust is more pie than pastry. Please slide to see.

The second item for the new Banana Leaf score and my “reason” for ordering Banana Leaf Saag Paneer for the nth time even from this extensive menu of untried dishes: it is prepared by Chef “Cha Cha” in the northern style with cream. And it is sublime, with just the right measured, experienced touch of seasonings in the minced fresh spinach (saag).

Wonderful server Ani suggested the customary garlic naan fresh from the tandoor oven to go along with it. Please slide to see although this photo doesn’t begin to capture its deep color and playful puffiness.

I asked Ani if the saag was popular and she herself ate it. Answer to both “yes, a lot.” She added, “but I am a vegetarian.” For me, a carnivore by DNA, Banana Leaf southern and now northern saag can mysteriously make up an entire satisfying meal for me… day after day 😋 actually it’s so healthy, why question it!

The second item for the new Banana Leaf score and my “reason” for ordering Banana Leaf Saag Paneer for the nth time even from this extensive menu of untried dishes: it is prepared by Chef “Cha Cha” in the northern style with cream. And it is sublime, with just the right measured, experienced touch of seasonings in the minced fresh spinach (saag).

Wonderful server Ani suggested the customary garlic naan fresh from the tandoor oven to go along with it. Please slide to see although this photo doesn’t begin to capture its deep color and playful puffiness.

I asked Ani if the saag was popular and she herself ate it. Answer to both “yes, a lot.” She added, “but I am a vegetarian.” For me, a carnivore by DNA, Banana Leaf southern and now northern saag can mysteriously make up an entire satisfying meal for me… day after day 😋 actually it’s so healthy, why question it!

Reasons 3 and 4 for my Banana Leaf DTLA score: The front and back of the house! 

Even as an unknown American customer to the new, young and yet old-school South Indian crew, I was treated warmly and guided to a meal of new dishes to me – and had my tons of questions answered thoughtfully and completely.

High energy founder-owner Sri Sambangi created a happy and delicious experience both here and the more bustling, tiny Culver City flagship) with this more spacious spot so beautifully managed.

Here the aura of dignified Chef de Cusine, affectionately called, “Cha Cha,” seems to ripple through the place, even in the well-organized menu. 

Chef recognized me from Banana Leaf Culver City and phoned the chef there to see that I was not ordering dishes they might have on the westside Southern-only menu!

The extensive menu reflects the most popular of Akbar’s most popular northern classics and Banana Leaf’s focus on South Indian food. The Akbar menu will still be available online.

Here is the beautifully packaged Biryani and Gitti Vankaya (stuffed eggplant), exclusive to DTLA.

Banana Leaf IS ready even though the pandemic craziness means the sign on the front still reads Kapoor’s Akbar, the restaurant that most recently occupied the site, as does the interior and wine list, all in transition.

The addresses are:

701 W. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Suite 107, Los Angeles, CA 90012. (213) 372-5590.

10408 Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232, (310) 838-2130.